Osmond Group Limited, the company I run, was formed in 1962 (when I was almost 7 years old). 2012 is therefore the 50th Anniversary of the business, a comparatively rare achievement in modern commerce.
As well as an opportunity for celebration, such an event also prompts reflection and I plan to spend some blog time over the coming year exploring how we used to do things, how we do them now and how things compare. First, a little background …
I am the oldest of four brothers and the company was originally established as I.S. Osmond & Sons Ltd. My father (the eponymous I.S. Osmond) obviously thought there was a dynasty in the making! In fact, one brother is now a Maths teacher, one is in the oil business in the United States and only Max, the youngest (who wasn’t even born in 1962), is also an active director, running our sister company, MSA Manufacturing.
Over the years, in addition to the ergonomics business, our corporate activities have included property development, a wine bar, a children’s clothes shop, business card printing machines, satellite TV, packaging, crafts, composite CNC machining, automotive logistics and Space Invaders. As I sometimes say, when asked for a profile, “I have been involved in running more businesses than I now have chins”!
Looking back through the archives, there are dramatic changes in technology, legislation and the understanding of workers and workplaces but our core values have remained remarkably constant. You might reasonably argue that Core Values must be constant but, over fifty years, the shape, size and activities of the company have changed dramatically and I am not sure that anyone had ever used the expression “Core Values” in 1962!
Posted by Guy Osmond 
Osmond Ergonomics 