Every Day Is Different: An Interview With Renco Manager, Mick Hall

In May this year, our manager, Mick Hall, will have been working here at Renco Nets for 26 years.

Mick was the very first employee and remembers when it was just himself and our founder, Rene Jorgensen, sourcing fishing nets and distributing them around the UK.

These days, we produce netting for a whole range of diverse industries and distribute all over the world. Indeed, Mick now heads up a team of eleven who not only source the nets but design and craft them too.

Between busy calls with various clients, we grabbed some time to chat to Mick and quiz him about his time here at Renco…

RENCO: 26 years, Mick! It’s a long time. How does it feel?

MICK: It is. Though it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Still, I do remember when it was just me and René. There have been a lot of changes since then.

RENCO: What comes to mind?

MICK: Well, there are more of us. That’s one thing. But back then it was really just a case of finding nets, bringing them in and then getting them out to the customer.

It was all about distribution. And we only really dealt with the fishing industry. These days we cover many more industries like sport and construction and we’re doing a lot more leisure stuff.

Of course, these days we actually make the nets too.

RENCO: And you’re responsible for overseeing that?

MICK: Yeah, I help to make sure it all ticks along and our customers are happy. I cover a lot of the sales side of things too, sorting out supply issues and talking with customers.

Though we’ve grown over the years – we’re still a very close-knit team, so everyone mucks in when then need to.

RENCO: What do you find are the biggest challenges for Renco customers?

MICK: It’s all about timing. Our customers need to know when they’ll get their stuff delivered and trust that it’ll be on time.

I think our customers are pretty happy with our service. We always let people know when things will be ready and pride ourselves on a pretty quick turnaround.

Otherwise, I guess it comes down to each specific customer and what they want from us. Now we’re working so much in the leisure sector, the requests that come in provide a lot of new challenges.

But that makes things a lot more fun too.

RENCO: What’s the weirdest request you remember?

MICK: I’m not sure about weird, but the giant spider web we were asked for sticks in my mind. It was something like ten metres by ten metres. That was interesting.

And there was the stuff we did for the film Hook. Cargo nets and various ropes to help dress the stage. That was good.

Witches hats too, which are kind of strange. They’re these cone shaped nets you can climb up. There’s always something new you get asked for.

RENCO: What’s the most common item you’re producing at the moment?

MICK: We’re doing a lot of rope work at the moment. Climbing ropes and rope bridges. A lot of them are for Ninja Parks.

RENCO: Did you say ‘Ninja’ parks?

MICK: Yeah, parks for kids to climb and scale and that sort of thing. We do a lot of bridges and cargo nets. A lot of rope bridges are also shipping out to China.

RENCO: That’s interesting.

MICK: We reach quite far afield these days. We’ve even shipped out to Belize in Central America.

That said we still mainly ship to Europe and the UK. But no matter where your business is based, if you have a netting need, we’re happy to help.

RENCO: That’s great, Mick. And thanks for taking the time to talk – I know it’s always busy. If anyone reading this is in need of some netting or rope work, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?

MICK: No problem at all. It’s good to talk about this stuff – I’ve been doing it long enough.

We’re always just a phone call away, or if people prefer they can email us. You can call on +44 (0) 1469 575 804 or the email is netting@renco.co.uk

Get in touch via either and you’ll get through to me or Chantele here in the office and we’ll do our best to help you out, whatever you might need in the way of netting or rope.

RENCO: Perfect. Thanks again, Mick. And we hope you enjoy many more happy years here at Renco Nets.

MICK: I’m sure I will. Who knows what we’ll be providing netting for next!

Remember, if you have any netting or rope needs, Renco Nets can help. Whether it’s for fishing, agriculture, sports or leisure, we can craft bespoke nets and rope for your business.

Just get in touch to find out more and talk about your specific needs. You can call on +44 (0) 1469 575 804 or email netting@renco.co.uk