The transition from REAX to SKYLOTEC is bringing plenty of new opportunities for the team, and recently that meant heading to Sweden to spend time with colleagues across the SKYLOTEC Group.

For Keith, Matt and Tom, the trip was a chance to get away from the day-to-day, meet more of the people behind the wider business and get a closer look at the products, technology and expertise that sit behind the SKYLOTEC name.

And, as you might expect, there was plenty to get stuck into.

Getting to know the wider SKYLOTEC team

Keith spent time with colleagues from across the global business, discussing products, demonstrations, technology, markets and the direction of the business. It was a valuable opportunity to see just how much knowledge and experience sits across the group.

While the products and technology were obviously a big part of the trip, it was the people that made the biggest impression.

Every conversation brought something different, whether that was a new perspective on a product, an insight into a particular market or simply a better understanding of how different parts of the business work together.

That experience is important as the UK team continues to build its relationship with the wider SKYLOTEC organisation.

Getting hands-on with ActSafe

For Matt and Tom, the trip also had a more technical focus.

The pair travelled to Lindome, Sweden, to spend time with the SKYLOTEC Nordic team and take part in ActSafe power ascender service training.

ActSafe has been a familiar part of the REAX equipment offering for years, so having the opportunity to visit the original production facility and learn more about servicing the equipment was particularly valuable.

The training covered the servicing of the ActSafe power ascender range, giving the team a much deeper understanding of the equipment and the work involved in keeping it performing as it should.

It is another step in developing the technical knowledge and service capability available to customers in the UK.

And, according to Tom, spending a week with the team in Sweden was a real privilege.

Having worked with ActSafe products throughout the REAX years, seeing where they are produced and meeting the people behind them gave the team a different perspective on the products they already know so well.

More than just a trip

Trips like this can easily become a list of meetings, training sessions and factory visits.

This one was a little more than that.

The visit gave the UK team the chance to put faces to names, build relationships with colleagues they may previously only have spoken to remotely and get a better understanding of the wider organisation.

That matters.

As REAX becomes part of the SKYLOTEC Group, maintaining the local knowledge and relationships that customers have come to expect remains important. At the same time, the team now has access to a much wider pool of knowledge, products, technical expertise and resources.

Bringing those two things together is where the real opportunity lies.

The UK team can continue to focus on the needs of the local market while working more closely with colleagues across Europe and further afield.

Bringing the knowledge back to the UK

The most useful part of any training or visit is what happens afterwards.

The knowledge gained in Sweden doesn't stay in Sweden. The aim is to bring it back to the UK and use it to improve the support, training and service we provide to customers.

Whether that is choosing the right equipment, understanding how a product works, maintaining equipment or looking at a more challenging working-at-height or rescue requirement, having direct access to the wider SKYLOTEC team gives the UK business another resource to draw on.

What's next?

The move from REAX to SKYLOTEC is still relatively new, and there is plenty more for the team to learn.

The visit to Sweden was one part of that process.

There will be more training, more product knowledge to build, more colleagues to meet and plenty of opportunities to share what the UK team already knows with the wider SKYLOTEC organisation.

For a team that has spent years working closely with customers across the UK, the aim remains the same: provide practical knowledge, quality equipment and the support customers need to work safely.

Now, there is a much bigger team behind that.

A big thank you to everyone at SKYLOTEC Nordic, SKYLOTEC SOE and across the wider group who made the visit so valuable and gave the team such a warm welcome.

There was plenty learned, plenty to take back to the UK and, judging by the photos, at least one or two T-shirts earned along the way.

The transition from REAX to SKYLOTEC is about more than a change of name. It is about bringing together the experience, knowledge and relationships we've built locally with the expertise and resources of a much larger international group.

And this trip was a good example of that starting to happen.

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