Speaker Evening

On Thursday 11th August, members of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry were treated to A Moving Experience - the appropriately-titled job talk of Matt Purdie who has recently joined the club from his previous club in Whitburn. In an amusing and fascinating presentation, Matt described how the company that bears his name has developed from a family coal merchant in West Lothian to the largest independent removal and storage company in Scotland. In the past it was quite common for families to ask the local coal man to move furniture on his wagon. Having decided to join the business, Matt concentrated on developing the removals side. He gained experience of every aspect of the industry and became Managing Director in 1996. Conscious of the often poor service offered by competitors, Matt decided to move his company up market, specialising in transporting valuable antiques and overseas removals as well as expanding the domestic side of the business. Matt sees training and quality of service as vital, and in 2008 - 10 was elected president of the British Association of Removers, the trade body which sets national standards and approves compliance with the Trading Standards Approved Code. He steered the association and its members through the recession when lack of house sales caused turmoil in the industry and expanded his own company further by acquiring other businesses. Matt retired two years ago, though he retains several directorships. Furniture removal is rich in amusing and surprising anecdotes. Matt's talk was full of such stories which  drew hearty applause from the audience.

Matt was introduced by Derek Clark. The vote of thanks was proposed by Sandy Mackenzie. In other business, President Graham Leith thanked Allan Smith for hosting a most enjoyable barbecue at The Forts and Enrico Prentice and his team for  organising the event.