Emma Stonehouse Celebrates 25 Years at Durham Lifting.
Internal Sales Manager Emma Stonehouse reflects on a career that began as a junior administrator and developed alongside Durham Lifting over its first 25 years in business.
Durham Lifting is celebrating an exceptional milestone as Internal Sales Manager Emma Stonehouse marks 25 years with the business.
Emma joined Durham Lifting in 1996 as a junior administrator and has developed her career across customer service, administration, accounts, operations and sales. She has grown alongside the company and played an important role in its development over the past quarter of a century.
A career built through experience and progression
Emma’s career has taken her through almost every commercial area of Durham Lifting, building the product knowledge, customer understanding and leadership experience behind her current role.
Starting a career through an apprenticeship
Emma grew up in a small village around 30 minutes outside Middlesbrough and remains closely connected to her family. She lives with her partner and young daughter and describes herself as someone who has always been comfortable organising the people around her.
After leaving school at 16 with strong GCSE results, Emma wanted to move directly into employment. She enrolled on a Modern Apprenticeship in Business Administration, which allowed her to gain qualifications while building practical workplace experience.
She joined Durham Lifting in 1996 as a junior administrator, beginning what would become a long and varied career within the lifting industry.
Junior administrator
Emma joined Durham Lifting at the beginning of the company’s journey and started learning how the business operated.
Experience across departments
Her career included customer service, administration, accounts, operations and increasingly technical sales responsibilities.
Internal Sales Manager
Emma now manages the internal sales process and supports the team through enquiries, quotations, tenders and new business.
Learning the lifting industry
Emma had no previous experience of lifting equipment when she joined the company. Under the guidance of the owners, directors and experienced colleagues, she began learning the different areas of the business.
Her work included customer service, administration, accounts, operations and sales, giving her a broad understanding of how customer requirements move through the organisation.
Durham Lifting supported Emma through management development and industry-specific training. She also completed an ILM Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.
Mentoring from lifting industry specialists helped her develop detailed knowledge of lifting equipment, product applications and rigging design. That experience now enables her to advise customers and help identify suitable solutions for complex lifting requirements.
Emma’s role as Internal Sales Manager
Emma manages the internal sales administration process, working with the team to ensure incoming enquiries are recorded, distributed, estimated, followed up and progressed efficiently.
She is also closely involved in tender preparation, including reviewing customer requirements, identifying suitable equipment, sourcing products, preparing quotations and helping secure new business.
Her experience across multiple areas of Durham Lifting gives her a detailed understanding of both the customer’s requirement and the operational work needed to deliver it.
Manage incoming requests
Ensure customer enquiries are recorded, reviewed and directed to the appropriate team.
Identify equipment
Assess the application and help select suitable lifting products and services.
Prepare commercial offers
Coordinate pricing, product sourcing and technical information for customer quotations.
Secure new business
Follow opportunities through and help build long-term customer relationships.
Finding the right solution for customers
Emma enjoys the sense of achievement that comes from helping a customer find the right solution for a particular lifting application.
Winning an order, building a relationship with a new customer or solving a difficult technical requirement all provide a strong sense of satisfaction.
The variety is another important part of the role. Each day can involve customers from sectors including renewable energy, nuclear, construction and rail, with every project presenting a different challenge.
“I love what I do and get a real feeling of achievement from helping our customers identify a solution, winning a new order or securing a new client.”
Emma Stonehouse · Internal Sales ManagerThe determination to win every order
Emma’s favourite part is the variety. Working across several industries, speaking with different customers and solving individual lifting problems means that no two days are exactly the same.
The least enjoyable part is losing an order. Even after 25 years, Emma remains highly competitive and wants to win every suitable opportunity she quotes.
That determination comes from a strong belief in Durham Lifting’s products, services and technical capabilities.
Responding to 25 years of change
Emma’s career has included several difficult periods for UK industry, including the 2008 recession, the oil and gas downturn in 2015 and the major disruption caused by COVID-19.
Each period required Durham Lifting to adapt to changing customer demand and market conditions.
Emma credits the strength of the team as one of the main reasons the organisation continued to develop through difficult periods and reached its 25th anniversary.
Important achievements included the launch and development of the Multisec product range, growth of the heavy-lift hire fleet and expansion of Durham Lifting’s fabrication services.
Growing the products, services and capabilities of Durham Lifting
Emma has seen Durham Lifting expand its engineered lifting equipment, heavy-lift hire fleet, fabrication services and technical support while remaining focused on customer relationships and dependable service.
Career highlights and major projects
Emma has been involved in many important projects throughout her career, including helping secure two major wind farm contracts.
Another memorable achievement was supplying lifting equipment for the installation of the arch at the new Wembley Stadium.
She was also proud to represent Durham Lifting at the Tees Businesswomen Awards after the company was shortlisted in two categories.
Her greatest personal achievement, however, is reaching 25 years with one company and knowing that she played an important role in its development and success.
Major wind farm contracts
Emma contributed to the commercial work that helped Durham Lifting secure two significant wind energy projects.
New Wembley Stadium
Durham Lifting supplied equipment used during the installation of the stadium’s distinctive arch.
Tees Businesswomen Awards
Emma represented the company after Durham Lifting was shortlisted in two award categories.
Opportunities for the North East
Emma sees the North East as an exciting place for industrial and energy development, particularly through investment in offshore wind.
The development of the Freeport and plans for major wind turbine manufacturing facilities demonstrated the scale of opportunity emerging across the region.
She believes Teesside and the wider North East have the skills, infrastructure and industrial experience required to become an increasingly important centre for renewable energy.
Lifting larger and heavier loads
The lifting industry continues to develop equipment capable of moving components at a scale that would previously have been considered exceptional.
Emma highlighted projects involving extremely high-capacity cranes and rigging components, including the 5,000-tonne-capacity “Big Carl” crane operating at Hinkley Point and the manufacture of shackles with capacities measured in thousands of tonnes.
As infrastructure, offshore wind and energy projects increase in size, suppliers will need to provide larger equipment, stronger technical capability and increasingly sophisticated lifting arrangements.
Helping train the next generation
Emma’s goal is to continue supporting the growth of Durham Lifting, promoting the company and increasing awareness of its products and services.
She also wants to see the team continue to expand and to use her experience to help train the next generation of lifting equipment professionals.
Having benefited from the support and knowledge of experienced mentors during her own career, Emma understands the importance of passing that expertise on to others.
“My biggest achievement is having worked for the same company for 25 years and knowing that I have played a major role in the success of the business today.”
Emma Stonehouse · Internal Sales ManagerThank you, Emma
Reaching 25 years with one company is a major achievement and reflects Emma’s commitment, knowledge and continued contribution to Durham Lifting.
From joining as a junior administrator to leading the internal sales function, she has developed alongside the company and supported customers through some of the most important periods in its history.
Everyone at Durham Lifting would like to congratulate Emma on her anniversary and thank her for 25 years of dedication to the business, its customers and the wider team.
Experience and knowledge built over decades.
Durham Lifting’s team combines practical lifting experience, detailed product knowledge and a commitment to finding dependable solutions for customers across demanding industries.