old—put even greater pressure on the family. When I was eight we relocated from London to Harrow in Middlesex, which was the best thing to happen to me in my young life. My teacher, Mrs. Abbott, taught me how to read and write, which would empower me as an older student and later a working man.” Steve became a plumber and started his own business
that he eventually sold. Upon immigration to Australia, he found it difficult to find employment in the building sector and took on a variety of jobs, which he says didn’t pay well, before stumbling into a role selling lifting equipment. Steve adds, “I wasn’t passionate about plumbing but
got a tremendous sense of pride out of the completion of projects and a customer’s satisfaction. I seemingly had a penchant for customer service that has continued to serve me well. Ash shares the same DNA but he’s also very driven by the sales process; I noticed that about him from an early age.” Ashley responds, “I honestly love what I do, and
I have such a drive to grow Ranger to the next level in terms of becoming a truly national and maybe international brand. It sounds like I may not be content with where we are, but I truly am, and it is great to look back on how far we have come, but I have always been an ambitious person and can be extremely competitive
by nature. Combine that with the thrill of building and growing the family company and it means I’m totally averse to standing still.” Te Tackers are reluctant to acknowledge it as a
“handover” between generations. Ashley says, “Tis month [April 2018] marks my 16th year of working at the company so it isn’t as though I have only just joined. We’ve both learnt a great deal over the years, sharing the tough times and the periods of growth. Even when Steve does eventually retire, he will remain my go-to person when I need his perspective or advice.” “Te transition period started when we named Ash general manager,” Steve adds. “Initially, Ash would take control of the day-to-day operation of the business whilst I was away on vacations. Our working practices are consultative; we share an office. I’m not in an ivory tower and one day I’ll give Ash access to the throne. It’s collaboration. He takes control of purchasing sales and staff, while my main input these days is related to finance.” Of greater significance than any baton pass, Ashley
agrees, is the evolution of the business that was accelerated in 2010. He explains: “When I came back, Ranger was still what I would call a small, family company, although we had been trading for 12 years at the time and sales were still good. However, the way we thought about business was not akin to a larger, more corporate business.
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