A Day in the Life of Tony Allridge

Did you know that Anders have a sales office in Italy? 

Not only is Italy home to some our favourite things like fast cars, beautiful design, architecture, and pizza, but it’s also home to our sales office where Tony Allridge is based Now if you’re thinking “the name Allridge doesn’t sound very Italian?” allow us to tell you the story of how Tony came to live, work, and raise a family in this beautiful country.

Tony’s journey with Anders started in 1990, when he joined the company as an Internal Sales Engineer for analogue meters in our London head office and he has hardly stopped for breath ever since. The meters market evolved from analogue to digital meters with LCD modules. Tony’s excitement in learning about new technology enabled him to establish long term partnerships in the UK.

Face-to-face meetings for ease of communications is one of Anders business principles and Tony loves to meet new people and is very excited to play a part in bringing new design concepts into reality and observing their success in the market. In all the 30+ years Tony has been in this role that excitement and enthusiasm has never waned. Tony has been instrumental in establishing this entrepreneurial, client success centric way of thinking within Anders; therefore, after establishing long term partnerships with Customers in the UK for 10 years, it was natural for him to seize the opportunity to not only move to Italy, but to set-up and open our Italian office from a complete standing start. How much innovative spirit does this demonstrate?

At the time of establishing our office in the year 2000, Italy was a completely new market for Anders, therefore Tony made it his mission to explore Display opportunities in the Italian market. Unlike the UK, the Italian market in the 90’s into the noughties focused on manufacture of white goods, home automation equipment and point of sale devices and was leading the way in the automotive industry, therefore Tony and his team appreciated the opportunity for Integrated LCD Display solutions to become an integral part of his new customers product development roadmaps.

The European market way of doing business is relationship driven, and Tony has a commitment to creating trusted long-term partnerships, he speaks about Anders and the display and embedded solutions offered with passion and flair.

So, what does a day in the life of Tony look like?

Everything in Italy starts with a cappuccino with breakfast. Then the day can begin in style.

Tony starts by visiting the sales office, where his journey began. He will catch up with colleagues in the UK and Asia offices and then get to work connecting digitally (via Zoom, Teams, or another online platform in a post COVID-19 world) to one of the many European customers the sales office now supports.

/katja-neuhaus/The growth and success of the European market is down to Tony’s drive and his team’s hard work to deliver. Shout outs must go to Katja and Rosaria who keep our business in good working order. Every team members ethos to work hard and their dedication to continue to grow the European arm, one satisfied customer at a time.

Many of the UK and EU customers who started on this journey with Tony are still with Anders today, as said, for all our customers it’s all about trust and a strong relationship, which they have found with Tony. Our sales operations grow as projects grow, as our Italian and ever-expanding European customer base grows, it’s the ripple effect and organic.

The market in Italy, as across the rest of the EU is varied, so there are a lot of future opportunities for Tony and team. In Europe there are many exciting and innovative Engineering companies designing and manufacturing in-house, so do not typically outsource that part of the production lifecycle. As a result of this, projects in the pipeline do tend to move quickly.

The relationship with Tony’s customers is a great one. Conversations are not all about work, they talk about the weather, the food, the wine, the coffee, which is when Tony can proudly promote that we work with the mainstream coffee machine makers in Italy to bring the Italian Roast into the home of millions across Europe and the world. 

This passion for design, hospitality, and perfection is a cultural one, that flows through from initial contact with Tony through to production and the final product.

As Tony’s role has grown in Anders, so too has the geographical landscape that he now covers. Tony is responsible for the development of customers throughout Southern and Central Europe, home to many European Blue Chip Original Equipment Manufacturers.

Grazie Tony, for everything you do for Anders!

About Tony

I love to travel when I can and explore Europe and beyond, meeting great people and learning about diverse cultures in the EU.

Adapting to the local culture and learning about customers’ innovative ideas and challenges is very exciting. The right advice, at the right time, to get your product right first time, at the start of your journey is key to a great relationship and instant success. This avoids production issues later in the lifecycle, with you asking the ‘what if’, question when mistakes are costly.

I work with a great bunch of people at Anders. We put in the hard work and hours, but we also have fun, and this is important. It reflects in our culture. We always challenge ourselves, look at ways to improve ourselves, and never allow ourselves to become complacent.

Get in touch to discuss your display and technology requirements and I'll be happy to help!