Employees Vanessa Curl and Terry Bates are celebrating a combined 65 years – 40 years for Vanessa and 25 years for Terry – working at Walsall based pet accessories company Ancol Pet Products.

Ancol Sales Director Sarah Lane said: “Congratulations to Vanessa and Terry for reaching such fantastic milestones and thank you both for your hard work and commitment over the years. We are grateful that we have such loyal and dedicated staff – without them we would not be the success that we are.”

Vanessa’s story

Production Supervisor Vanessa Curl started at Ancol when she was just 16 and has seen the company grow from humble beginnings to becoming a leading name in the pet industry.

“I remember being petrified when I started,” said Vanessa. “But I soon settled in to a small team and everyone made me really welcome.” Vanessa’s first role was to manually ‘stain and vein’ the leather in preparation for it to be machined – a process which is all done by machine today. In 1988 she was promoted to supervisor and now also looks after the stores.

“Ancol is lovely company to work for, it’s always felt like being part of a family and they really care for their staff.”

Vanessa was awarded a holiday voucher of her choice in recognition of her long service.

Terry’s story

Terry Bates was recently awarded a gold watch to mark his 25th anniversary at Ancol, having followed in his parents’ footsteps when he started in 1988.

“I used to be a delivery driver and was away from my family for long periods, so I was delighted when my Dad told me about an opportunity at Ancol,” said Terry.

“After a week’s trial I never looked back – my work-life balance was restored.”

Terry enjoys his varied role – not only does he cuts leather but he is also a delivery driver and helps with the general maintenance of the factory.