When the Managing Director of Bents decided he wanted to do something a little bit different to continue the celebrations for the Centre’s success at this year’s Garden Centre Association awards, no-one expected him to suggest a rickshaw to help him reach as many colleagues as possible.  But when tackled with such a challenge, Bents’ in house team of joiners never disappoint!

The solution was a hand-made tricycle, designed and built by one of Bents’ most creative and skilled colleagues, Karl Sharples.  The trike proved to be the perfect transportation as Matthew was able to cycle around the store, stopping off in the Centre’s many different departments.

Colleagues were invited to spin the wheel and choose a gift, as a thank you for the hard work and dedication that goes into making Bents the Best Destination Centre in the UK.

Said Matthew:  “When I came up with the idea of surprising our colleagues I never imagined I would have been able to travel in such style!  We really wanted the celebrations to be a little bit different this year and the tricycle has proved the perfect answer.  It has helped me get to all corners of the centre as well as out to our warehouse and nurseries to ensure we could surprise as many colleagues as possible.

“I am always so impressed with the talents and skills of our joinery team as they never fail to deliver fantastic displays at Christmastime, but Karl has gone even further with his ability to build me an actual tricycle from scratch.  It was the perfect means of transport for my challenge and is currently parked up outside my office ready for me to hop on again and continue with my quest to surprise and thank our colleagues!”

Karl used his design and joinery skills to build the tricycle using parts from an existing bike, spare wheels and fabricated new parts to create the carrier, which was essential for all the thank you gifts.