To give him a well deserved send-off, Michael enjoyed a farewell lunch with former colleagues and was joined by company Chairman Julian Niman who presented him with a specially engraved Waterford crystal bowl in recognition of his sterling service.
“His professionalism, knowledge and great personality combined with an infectious good humour endeared him to many customers,” said Julian. “On one occasion he had a meeting with a dealer at six o’ clock in the morning such was his dedication.”
Looking back on his distinguished career Michael recalled some significant industry changes and highlighted the way Nimans has grown into the county’s number one distributor.
“I worked out I have travelled more than a million business miles during my time with Nimans. I used to enjoy going on the road but the traffic now makes it impossible to get anywhere without hold-ups. I really enjoy meeting people and have always judged the industry on people rather than products. It’s been the personal touch for me.”
He continued: “Nimans is unrecognisable from when I first started. There were just 15 of us compared to the 200 now. It just shows what a success story Nimans really is. I like to think I have played a small part and feel proud of where the company stands today.”
Michael, from Swindon, joined Nimans in 1988 and says the telecoms arena was very different to what it is today. He actually started in the industry in 1966, selling telephone systems on 14 year rental contracts with Plessey.
Michael concluded: “I will miss the people of Nimans the most as well as the dealers. In many ways I was part of the family with them, liaising with up to three generations of the same business.” He is now looking forward to spending more time gardening, watching sports and bird watching. Michael is also about to set off on a holiday to the Azores, whale watching.