Charlotte Summers joined Team Midland Lead in 2018 as Purchasing Co-ordinator, working alongside Finance. Since then, her hands-on attitude and willingness to take on new responsibilities has seen her create impact across many different areas of the business! In 2019 Charlotte led a new IT system deployment, becoming super user and training every department on the Business Central platform. During Covid she started to help out in Production and Operations, and her role today as Operational Excellence Manager sees her driving efficiency improvements with a ‘Mrs Hinch’ approach that keeps the factory spotless! 

Charlotte is also responsible for managing the operations team and recruiting new members of Team Midland Lead. “It’s great here, but there’s also reality to consider” comments Charlotte. “You’re touching cold lead all day, when it’s cold it’s freezing and when it’s hot, it’s hot! Our staff must be clean shaven and need to shower at the end of each shift. The lead is heavy – our workers make it look easy, but the ‘lead gym’ can be tough for new starters! But we’re a family run company, and the hours are great, especially for those with young children. This is fantastic workplace for people who want to be curious, step up and do a great job”.

Gemma Mulcahy joined Midland Lead aged 16, as a Level 2 Administration Apprentice in 2018. Working in the sales office, she soon progressed to a Level 3 Customer Service Specialist. During Covid, the Operations team were short-staffed due to staff isolation and Gemma volunteered to help out, quickly gaining her fork-lift truck licence. She’s now permanently employed in Operations, and is our only female production operative who can drive all Midland Lead vehicles including excavators and forklifts of up to 12 tonnes.  Gemma looks back on her career journey to date: “I quickly felt like I was working as part of a forward-thinking company that supports its staff every step of the way. For me, job progression is a major thing and I know I have a really great career ahead of me at Midland Lead”.

Kyle joined Midland Lead in 2015 as Telesales Executive and quickly demonstrated a natural rapport with Midland Lead customers. This was rewarded with a promotion to Regional Sales Manager only 18 months later, seeing Kyle out on the road strengthening these relationships with customers and channel partners.

Kyle’s industry knowledge and impressive work ethic have been recognised by both national and local industry. In 2018 he won ’Young Employee of the Year’ in the Burton Mail Business Awards, and latterly won two awards from the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) for ‘Young Supplier Achiever 2022’ and ‘Top 100 Supplier Influencer’ in 2023.

There’s not much Kyle doesn’t know about the lead industry, and today his role as Sales Director gives him the opportunity to create impact with all our key stakeholders – independent and national merchants, contractors, export agents, trade bodies. We’re proud of your success, Kyle!

It was a career change that brought Tom to Midland Lead after he decided that university life wasn’t for him. Tom initially came to Midland Lead via an agency, as Production Operative. After joining, he mentioned his interest in Maintenance, and the Operations Team arranged for Tom to work on more maintenance related tasks. He now works in Maintenance full time – fixing anything that breaks down, managing and planning projects and performing regular checks on equipment. “I enjoyed Production as you know what you’re doing every day – it gives you peace of mind” comments Tom. “But Maintenance is where my passion is – I can work independently, and the work is interesting and varied. It’s a very friendly atmosphere here – the difference between a family-run business versus a corporate. People take their work seriously but it’s also very relaxed.”