Truck and Track Autumn 2021

www.truckandtrack.com Autumn 2021 Truck and Track 63 DANGEROUS GOODS RS: I understand that you started your working life in the aviation industry, tell me more about your early working experience. KK: Well, we are going back some years now! I joined BOAC (now British Airways) in 1969 as an apprentice involved in the international flight charting. I then joined a subsidiary of BA, IAL, a very successful Aviation Group department managing the developing Middle East Airport Services. I specialised in the structure of Flight Information Regions (FIR) and Airport Information Services (AIS) in Oman, Saudi and UAE’s. I also transferred knowledge and skills to other national organisations around the world by lecturing and teaching at Bailbrook College Bath, Oxford, and through CAA secondment. I have always been grateful to the IAL Aviation Group as this is where I gained a wealth of experience working across the broad management skills of the aviation services industry. I was keen and creative, and the company recognised my talents. Consequently, I was verymuch in demand as I got more involved with air traffic control, engineering communications, security training and ground operations. I soaked up the environment and what went on with daily airport operations and could not get enough of that international airside experience. The company was then taken over by British Telecom in the 1980’s as BT expanded its international operations. IAL was a great vehicle for their communications development. I then took up the position as Head of Project Presentations, taking on all aspects of marketing, tender submissions, and proposal documents - all still very much air operations based. During this time, I gained the opportunity to work at all levels with governments, commercial organisations, and joint ventures. The company was sold again in 1991, to Serco. At this point I could see that my days were numbered and, predictably, the business was broken up as they often are following a takeover. RS: What happened next? KK: I always say to anyone who is about to lose, or has lost, their job: “It isn’t always a bad thing”. The day I was made redundant was the best day of my life! I guess that being prepared is to be forearmed. Before I lost my job which I loved very much, I had been considering what would be my next move. I’d already approached IATA with my track record and ideas, and I offered them the opportunity for me to be a Regulatory Agency. With my creative abilities, and the depth of involvement I had with the aviation industry, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I remember the day well. It was the morning I was informed that my first delivery of IATA DG publications had arrived at LHR for me to collect. Ironically, within two hours I was called into the office: “We don’t need you anymore Keith”. I said, “OK thanks a bunch.” and walked out of one door and through others speaking to the many people that I knew in various management groups on my way out. Informing them I was open for business; I was offered four projects instantly. That day, I arrived home with my first batch of DG regulations. My wife was shocked - but I had a big smile as I said, “Don’t worry, I have a plan.” Unfortunately, Serco was a bit short sighted and had to re-hire me as they needed my knowledge to finish a few projects. RS: So, you’d already had experience of the DG market? KK: Exactly. For some years I’d seen this sector frustrated with regulatory supply problems making it difficult to get hold of important regulations, documentation, and dangerous goods labels at a time when DG was evolving at a pace. I had experienced working in a poorly served industry which was reliant on government agencies, printing companies and others who had scant regard for customer service. Furthermore, back then, there were very few specialists in the field who could offer assistance - and no one who could satisfy the requirement for an efficient and reliable distribution service. I believed that I could offer solutions to overcome these issues. RS: When and where did you start operating? KK: My whole business started from scratch in 1992. I worked from home using my garage as a warehouse. Labeline was started as sole trader becoming Ltd in 2004. Labeline’s Compliance Manager Richard Shreeve 2022 sees Labeline International celebrate its 30th anniversary Richard Shreeve, their Key Accounts Manager, asks the company’s founder and MD, Keith Kingham, about how Labeline started and subsequently evolved to be a world-leading supplier of dangerous goods (DG) compliance products Keith Kingham, Managing Director of Labeline International