5 Star Cases has appointed Allen Smith as Quality Assurance Manager.
5 Star Cases services multiple industries from entertainment, medical, telecoms and robotics, to motorsport. It is one of Europe’s most relied upon flight case manufacturers, and counts companies such as Terry Tew Sound & Light, Universal Studios, Allen & Heath, Power Maxed racing, DiGiCo and Arden Motorsport as long-standing clients.
The company’s ambitious growth strategy and ever-increasing product portfolio, including a new range of wooden packing crates, prompted the search for a Quality Assurance Manager, with Allan unanimously chosen by the team.
“As part of our long-term strategy, we have been investing in state-of-the-art equipment to ensure we can serve our customers with products that are manufactured to the highest quality standards,” said 5 Star Cases Operations Director, Ingus Lasinskis. “The investment in technology goes hand in hand with the investment in our team, which is the backbone of 5 Star’s philosophy. With the growing demand for flight cases and our latest addition – wooden packing crates – we felt that the Quality Assurance Manager position was necessary to maintain the high product standards our customers expect from us.”
“Allan has over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry. He has sound commercial awareness and a proven track record in multi-site, people, performance and project management,” shared 5 Star Cases Accounts & HR Manager, Kirsty Locks. “He also has an excellent record of driving cost savings and process improvements to increase profits and efficiency through the use of industrial engineering, Lean and other CI initiatives, whilst maintaining customer satisfaction, which was exactly what we were looking for in this position.”
Locks notes that while Smith’s superb credentials and experience were impressive, what was even more important to 5 Star was to understand his personality, needs and ambitions. “Staff wellbeing is our number one priority, which is why many of our team have been with us for 10 or more years,” added Locks. “We want everyone who works here to feel fulfilled and valued, so understanding Allan’s personality and his aspirations was crucial to making sure he would fit in well with the others and be able to grow professionally in the future. We want to help our employees to be the best version of themselves.”
At heart a problem solver with strong analytical, strategic and decision-making skills, Smith also describes himself as a dynamic, resourceful and committed professional. “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining an organisation that is so passionate about maintaining high-quality standards throughout its extensive product portfolio and continuously developing its employee workforce,” he concluded. “I was also pleased that as well as looking at my resume and professional credentials, Kirsty took the time to really understand my needs and motivations and what kind of person I am. A lot of companies forget about that and just focus on the contents of a CV. I literally can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and dive into the job!”