A fond farewell
There are some relationships that involve so many strong emotions there is really only one word that captures them: family. They are built on good times and hard times, important days and ordinary days, all mixed together.
They become a part of you because you can’t forget them. Neil Levett has such a relationship with this magazine. He, and his father Alan, who ran Highways before him, are family to this magazine.
Neil helped oversee the marriage of Hemming Group and Alad Ltd and the merger of Highways and Surveyor. His hard work, dedication and vision helped make the move as smooth as possible and built a new foundation for our future.
Having overseen this transition period, Neil recently left Highways. We wish him well and will continue to ensure this magazine lives up to the high standards he set – providing a publication dedicated to supporting this great sector through all the freezes, the thaws, and all the resurfacings.
Just as ink becomes part of the paper, it becomes part of the writer and publisher. Neil, our former publisher, became part of Highways and Highways became a part of him.
A warm hello
But Neil was never going to stay on the golf course for too long (despite needing the practice) and sure enough...
Highway Care has appointed Neil Levett, of Levett Business Services, to join its senior leadership team.
Mr Levett has a long track record within the highways sector. Having joined his family business, Alad, in 1995, he successfully guided the company to be part of a sector powerhouse, which included Highways Magazine, Highways on Fridays, SMART Highways, 7Days in ITS and Seeing is Believing (now Traffex Live).
Highway Care is a supplier and installer of specialist highway and security, vehicle restraint systems and mobile traffic products for the highway safety industry. It is thought to be the first company to introduce new road safety solutions into the UK such as the first Lorry Mounted Crash Cushion, the first Mobile Light Arrow and Mobile Red X along with the first P4 End Terminal.
Mr Levett said: 'I was delighted to be invited by Highway Care to join their senior leadership team to conduct a 360-degree delivery analysis and future growth strategy.
'By pure coincidence, Highway Care was the first company I did business with in the sector when we bought Highways Magazine back in 1995. For them to be one of the first companies that Levett Business Services signs as a client is serendipity.
'Their offering is certainly widely known and respected (both domestically and internationally) and we will seek to evolve and develop this reputation as a safety innovator and key service partner for Tier 1 and 2 delivery contractors on some of the UK’s most prestigious projects.
'We cannot wait for Traffex this year to unveil some of our lead initiatives for this year, they will certainly be headline grabbers!'
Ben Duncker, commercial director at Highway Care, said: 'Many in our industry will know Highway Care for the numerous innovative solutions we have introduced in the last two decades and those that don’t will be surprised to learn that our products can be found on almost every mile of Highways England roads. This is something we hope to change in 2019 – starting with Traffex in April!'
