We鈥檙e sad to be saying goodbye to one of our carpenters, Pete Rowley, who is due to retire just before Christmas.
Pete鈥檚 worked听at Icon for 15 years, but now he鈥檚 turned 65, Pete鈥檚 looking forward to spending more time in his garden, working on his flowerbeds rather than crafting bespoke items for exhibitions.
Pete鈥檚 worked in the exhibition industry since the NEC opened in 1976. In fact, one of Pete鈥檚 earlier jobs was as a shop and bar-fitter, and he was actually part of the team that worked on fitting out the refreshments areas in the NEC.听 Since then, whilst working for Icon as an exhibition carpenter, he鈥檚 spent even more time at the NEC, building bespoke exhibition stands there, and at other exhibition venues around the world, for Icon鈥檚 clients.
Pete says: 鈥淚鈥檝e really enjoyed working at Icon, as the work is so varied and the people are a great team to work with.听 The best thing about working as an exhibition carpenter is that you never quite know what you鈥檙e going to be asked to make next.听 I鈥檝e been asked to make some strange things in my time, but probably one of the oddest things I鈥檝e had to make is a replica cow鈥檚 udder!鈥�
MD of 91社区, Wayne Ball says: 鈥淲e鈥檒l all really miss having Pete around. He鈥檚 been a loyal member of our team over the last 10 years, and his carpentry skills and hard work have definitely played a part in helping Icon develop a reputation for high quality exhibition services.鈥�
The team have presented Pete with a听watch and tankard听as a token of their appreciation of his efforts over the years.