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From a chat on the football pitch sidelines to becoming the Owner and Director of Woodford Tools, Michael Kyriacos shares his story with Sarah Dale.

Nothing is too much trouble for Michael Kyriacos, the owner of Woodford Tools, as far as his customers are concerned.

When a client needed a hazardous chemical urgently so they could fulfil a contract, he jumped in his car and drove to Amsterdam to pick it up.

“When you’re talking to new customers, I can say all these things about valuing customers, but you won’t know for sure until we start working together,” says Michael.

“Everyone says their customer service is the best. It’s a phrase that people use but when you look at it closely, they’re talking about what people expect anyway such as quick delivery. We go above and beyond, like the example above.”

Woodford Tools is a supplier of abrasives, tools, PPE, Workwear, commercial hygiene, janitorial and may more products into the engineering, aerospace, automotive engineering, precision engineering, service and care sectors.

The original company was founded in 1977 under a different name and Woodford Tools was born in 1992 when a previous owner bought it. Michael bought it just over five years ago, having joined the company 10 years ago as Operations Director.

Michael’s entrepreneurial spirit was sparked when he was just 13 years old and growing up in South Africa. He loved electronics and would spend hours taking apart remotecontrolled cars to see how they worked.

His aunt had a toy shop and when games consoles were out of warranty but needed repairs, she asked him if he would like to have a go at fixing them. And so started a regular source of income for Michael and gave him the bug of selling.

“I am a resilient and determined sort of person,” says Michael, Who has two children, the oldest 18, the youngest 14.

“In 2003, me and my wife – we were engaged at the time – decided that with nothing, no job, no house, we would move to the UK.

My wife had just finished studying her degree in skin science and wanted to work on a cruise liner but unfortunately, her application was rejected. We went out one evening in September 2002 and she was saying she was disappointed, and I said I was a bit fed up with my job. I flippantly suggested we move to England for a few years, and she said: ‘Yeah alright then’ and that was it!”

So they sold their possessions, bought two aeroplane tickets and moved to Hertfordshire. They both found work quite quickly and having already worked in retail, Michael got a job at House of Fraser as a Sales Manager before working for a luxury fragrance distributor.

“And then I just thought I need to do something else – so I resigned without a job, giving up a really good salary and company car,” he says.

His career at Woodford Tools started as the result of a casual chat at the sidelines of the football pitch of the junior team he coached in his spare time a few weeks after he became unemployed.

The former owner’s son went to school with Michael’s son and the fathers knew each other from the football team.

“We got chatting one day and I asked him how business was,” he says.

“He was really stressed and said his manager had resigned and I flippantly said I wasn’t doing anything at the moment, so if he wanted some help, I could step in for a few weeks while I was deciding my next step and he said OK. I had been there three or four weeks helping out to prepare for an audit which I knew nothing about but managed to get us through perfectly, when he asked me to become Operations Director and run the company.”

About two or three years later, he bought shares in the company and five-and-a-half years ago, the owner wanted to retire so Michael bought him out.

“This was a big opportunity for me,” he says. “From the company’s point of view, we have grown noticeably with large contracts. We’re big enough to cope but small enough to care. Every single customer, whether you spend £5 or £5,000, is treated the same. We value every relationship we have with our customers and suppliers.”

Before Covid, the company had more employees but now has a team of 16 having not replaced team members who have moved on. When business was quieter during Covid – Michael refused to participate in the “PPE bidding war” of ordering in bulk and selling at high prices to profit from the pandemic as he witnessed other firms do – they developed their technology set-up meaning that stock management software has replaced the work of four people. Now the company is on a growth trajectory, they are about to appoint a Stock Operations Manager and are currently recruiting for external salespeople. Woodford Tools joined West London Chambers of Commerce last year.

“Networking is such an important part of any business and we joined the Chamber because of their great networking opportunities,” he says.

“We want to mix with other local businesses.”

One of the biggest challenges the company faces is positioning Woodford Tools as a single source supplier from cutting discs and welding equipment to toilet rolls and washing-up liquid.

“We’re looking to continue to grow as a company and are always on the lookout for acquisitions as part of our growth plan and are currently in the process of finalising one,” says Michael.

“I’m very proud of being an independent, family-run company with family values and we look out for suppliers who are independent too.

“I read something years ago that stuck with me. The gist of it is if you buy from a small business, you’re not helping the Chief Executive buy another Porsche, you’re helping a dad buy his daughter a pair of ballet shoes. If we can do our bit to support other independent businesses, we will.”

For further information on what Woodfords can do for you or your business, get in touch at: Michael.Kyriacos@woodfordsuk.co.uk