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John Ratcliff
• John Ratcliff is a man of independent mind. Only 35, he has climbed the managerial ladder first as an employee of English Electric Ltd and then with his late father's company; now he is managing director of John Ratcliff (Tail Lifts) Ltd.
It was his desire for independence which led him into the exciting, if at times precarious, realms of design, production and sales. Rising from apprentice to departmental manager with English Electric, he broke away from what he found to be a constricting set-up and joined forces with a friend in a Liverpool garage venture. In 1964 he gravitated to Stoke Newington where his father, Ted Ratcliff, had started a tail-lift manufacturing and fitting business.
When his father (who had invented the taillift produced by USI) died, John took control and his adept navigation of the family business through dangerous waters before the Ratcliff/Burtonwood merger was something of an epic. Courted by influential interests, he preferred to exploit his design and entrepreneurial skills as head of his own group of companies.
Now that John presides over a growing, consolidated business he is as keen as ever to innovate and develop new mechanical handling aids. Well established in Britain, he has arranged for his tail-lift to be built in Belgium and Switzerland and intends soon to look at prospects in Japan.
John Ratcliff seems to do things fast. Once having made up his mind he moves in quickly. Perhaps this side to his character stems from the fact that he was a more than useful sprinter in his youth. His go-getting qualities possibly reflect his other sporting pastime — when he played in a number 11 shirt at soccer.
With John at the Welwyn factory is his attractive sister Jean who is responsible for production control and customer liaison. Both share a passionate desire for independence: they are refreshingly direct when voicing an opinion and have the ability to generate enthusiasm in their workforce.J.D.