H&H Group has appointed a new health, safety and welfare manager.
Mark Panczak, based at the H&H head office in Carlisle, will deliver strategic health and safety management systems and processes across the group’s five businesses.
His role includes developing and implementing training and continuous improvement plans for every member of staff involved at every level in the group’s activities, from livestock marketing and auctioneering, commercial print and digital marketing, insurance, residential property agency and land management consultancy.
Richard Rankin, the group’s CEO, said: “This is a key appointment for the group’s continued development and we’re confident that the positive impact Mark will make will be enormous.
“In many areas of our businesses our people are operating in high-risk environments, and Mark’s most important responsibility is to help safeguard their health and wellbeing. He has an excellent track record of bringing a fresh, practical approach to what is often perceived simply as a regulatory duty.”
Born and educated near Annan, after leaving school Mark initially joined the police, but soon moved into agriculture on a self-employed basis. He then joined Arla Foods as an apprentice dairy technologist, while at the same time completing a degree in dairy technology.
During his eight years at the firm, he worked his way up to become health and safety specialist for the company’s Lockerbie site which processes a total of 1.7 million litres of milk a day. In this role he was responsible for the health and safety management of 250 employees.
Mark, 32, said: “My role is principally to develop the most effective systems and procedures to ensure compliance, and to deliver the best training and education to help everybody understand how they play their part in this process. Our aim is to instil a culture of 100 per cent compliance across all areas in which we operate, and the key to success lies in bringing everybody with us, helping staff to understand why this is so important and how it benefits their lives.
“This is going to be an exciting and fascinating privilege for me to use my skills and experience to support everyone within the business to help make a real difference in such a progressive rural enterprise as the H&H Group.”
