12 months ago Dilan Rees could never have imagined that he would soon be the youngest supervisor on the SRL team, but that is exactly what the 22-year old from South Wales has gone on to become. 

From tractor to traffic

Dilan had been managing a team of 12 people and helping to run a large commercial farm in Carmarthen when he heard there was a chance to change occupation and join SRL at our D13 depot. With an ambition to further his career and take on new challenges, Dilan was excited by the opportunity.

“The role with SRL was completely different to what I had been doing before, but I love a challenge and I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do,” says Dilan. “I could see that SRL was a forward-thinking company and there were lots of great opportunities for training, development and career progression and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Despite being in his early twenties, Dilan’s enthusiasm and people skills impressed our regional manager, Paul Hamilton, and he joined us as a supervisor in August 2020. Although relatively new to the business, he has already become a formidable member of our team.

Dilan covers a large area of South Wales, including key locations such as Swansea, Newport and Cardiff and he frequently finds himself clocking up the miles travelling from one place to another to visit customers, carry out inspections, organise repairs and drop off or collect SRL equipment.

As well as supervising our D13 depot, Dilan also supports D25, D7 and D15 when needed, so he is in daily contact with customers throughout the entire region.

“We really do pride ourselves on our excellent customer service and we work incredibly hard to be with our customers in two hours or less, no matter where they are. We’re always ready for them,” Dilan says. “I’m dedicated to my customers 100% and I have a great relationship with them – what matter is that they know we will always go the extra mile to help them.”

Learning to be the best

A keen learner, Dilan has embraced the opportunity for training and learning on the job. From learning how to put lights out and repair them, remotely monitoring equipment and attending call outs when needed, he is a reliable and dependable member of the team. 

“From the very outset I wanted to learn as much as I could to help me be the best I can be at my job and it is really rewarding to be given the responsibility I now have. I know that what we do is really important to serve our customers and keep our roads safe,” he adds. 

Since joining last summer, Dilan has qualified in a number of key areas – trailers, maintenance, service, repairs and safety on site. He has also completed Category B&E trailer training, qualified in the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) and passed the SLG Singing Lighting Guarding & Monitoring of Unit course – all within a remarkably short period of time.

Clearly passionate about achieving these qualifications, Dilan is confident to take on anything that’s needed to support customers – day or night. He recently responded to a request for emergency hire for of a 16-headed temporary system in Bristol city centre on a Sunday.

“The main traffic lights were down at a busy junction close to Bristol and it was a Sunday,” reveals Dilan. “Obviously we wanted to minimise any chaos on the roads, so we rapidly deployed temporary lights from my depot in Swansea and another in Nottingham. Both myself and the supervisor from Nottingham were there in under two hours to put the new lights out. Smooth traffic flow was soon restored and the client was very pleased. It is a great part of the job to deal with traffic problems like this and to install a system that rectifies them very quickly.”

Dilan has also been out on the road demonstrating our new Instaboom barrier to customers and they have been impressed with its capabilities. “It’s great to introduce new products and technologies to our customers and I’ve really enjoyed working alongside Paul Hamilton to show them Instaboom. We’ve visited the depots in our region and demonstrated the product to customers. The reception towards it has been so positive.”

The pace of change at SRL is something that Dilan thrives on, particularly when it comes to talking to customers about any pioneering new developments that we’ve created. “Technologies like Instaboom and ADS are incredible,” he says. “It really is terrific to be at the leading edge and to bring these developments to market.”

So, has Dilan found his forever job with SRL? “SRL is an amazing company – the people are so driven and passionate and there are plenty of opportunities to train and develop your skills to progress within the business. The sky’s the limit for SRL and I definitely want to share in what the future holds for the company.”