World Entrepreneur Day - Celebrating the entrepreneurs who have built a unique and resilient business

Each year, on the 21 st of August, World Entrepreneurs’ Day is celebrated to create awareness for entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership around the world. In this article we celebrate over 100 years of entrepreneurial innovation and success that has led to the National Windscreens organisation we see today.

The history of National Windscreens is filled with entrepreneurial families and individuals with an unwavering spirit and passion for automotive glass and customer service for over a century. Through world wars, recessions and technological advancements, the thriving presence of National Windscreens is built upon a commitment to nurture and develop people from within the industry.

We talk to those now responsible for directing the company on how they provide the support and freedom necessary for entrepreneurial skills to flourish within the business and drive the nationwide business of today.

World Entrepreneur Day was created to raise awareness for entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership throughout the world.  those who drove the organisation forward over recent years. The team will continue to learn and provide the support and freedom necessary for entrepreneurial skills to flourish within the business.

The automotive glazing entrepreneurs behind the setting up of National Windscreens in 1982 have been providing specialist automotive glazing services from the early 1900’s. This dedication to glass repair and replacement and, more recently, calibration, assures customers of the knowledge and competency of the technicians. National Windscreens is a totally glass-focused company, founded by people dedicated to automotive glass.

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National Windscreen board directors; Mike Rotin and Vicki Riddell

Cultivating and building relationships has allowed National Windscreens to provide a people-centred and market-leading service. This is most strongly evidenced by continued investment in regional training and research centres around the UK, the latest of these being due to open in Leicester during September.

The centre will continue to drive the technical skill base across National Windscreens, with intensive training given to new starter and experienced team members and will be supplemented by learning and development to cultivate a soft skillset that breeds initiative, creativity, and autonomy that prepares the team for future challenges.

Mike Rotin, board director, comments: “Since the early days of National Windscreens, the focus has been on creating customer satisfaction and striving to deliver a fast and easy service, using only the highest quality products. A key part of the success story of National Windscreen is creating the network of innovative suppliers necessary to deliver this service reliably throughout the UK, a factor that has been brought into sharp focus during the Covid pandemic.”

“Building close relationships with suppliers, constantly improving communication between all our people and aligning ourselves with best practice in all aspects of our business, has enabled us to thrive over many years. I think that appreciating the history of National Windscreens is key to understanding what we need to do to look after the business for the next generation.

“Our group purchasing strategy allows for large volumes and competitive and transparent pricing. Over the course of 40 years, the member companies that make up National Windscreens have grown together by sharing best practices, investing shrewdly and constantly developing and upskilling their teams.

“We appreciate that developing and promoting from within the business has played a key role in our growth, so recently we embarked on a training mission with professional coaching appraisals for staff, coaching them on setting objectives for both their personal and company development.

“The success of the business relies heavily on a strong entrepreneurial spirit that has been evolving for over 100 years in this organisation, with our team tirelessly identifying opportunities and providing solutions for customers. The combined experience of the leaders within the business makes for a dynamic company, full of ideas and a strong direction and we will continue to identify the capable individuals that will drive the business forward today and, in the future,” adds Mike.