Stiller Warehousing and Distribution husband-and-wife employees Julie and Jay Gilpin enjoyed a royal date at Buckingham Palace to represent their Aycliffe employers.
Stiller was invited to the royal garden party earlier this summer to celebrate RoSPA’s (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Centenary in the capital.
Julie was asked to represent Stiller after her work in helping Stiller to gain one of the highest industry-recognised standard safety accreditations this year.
Office manager Julie and fleet and facilities manager Herbie Blaser worked with quality standards consultant Billy Naisbett, of Newton Aycliffe-based ISO Systems, over a seven-month period to attain ISO 18001 certification.
Stiller drivers have also been awarded gold certificates after taking part in RoSPA’s driver assessor courses.
Julie and Jay, who have both worked for Stiller for 16 years, met Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his daughter, Princess Eugenie of York, during “high tea” in the palace grounds, amid glorious sunshine.
“It was a wonderful day,” said Julie. “We shook Princess Eugenie’s hand briefly spoke to her, when she was treated to a 30-second blast about Stiller from me!
“We wandered around and they served us very posh food, including some bona fide cucumber sandwiches. It was a beautiful day and we were very proud to represent Stiller.”
Stiller employs 140 people across a huge 20-acre site on Aycliffe Business Park, providing cost-effective warehousing and distribution services to businesses in the North-East region as well as commercial property lettings.