Wendy Smith has worked at Frank Key Group in Daybrook, Nottingham for 20 years.

When Wendy Smith began her first job at Frank Key Group in Daybrook, Nottingham, Tony Blair was Prime Minister, the turn of the Millennium was just around the corner and Britney Spear’s ‘Baby One More Time’ was the year’s best selling single.

Twenty years on Wendy, who started in the finance office, continues to apply her vast knowledge of the Frank Key Group’s operations and oversees the company’s purchase ledger. She is now celebrating her china anniversary with the £30m turnover building supplies, plant and tool hire business.

In her time at the company, she has seen it expand from a single site at Daybrook to 17 depots across the Midlands and South Yorkshire.

Robert Sansom is the owner of Frank Key Group. He reflects: “When Wendy joined the business she started in a tiny office just around the corner from me. Her application to her work is second to none and she continues to maintain a tight rein over our finances - something which is essential in any successful business.

“She also applies her keen eye for detail in another of her favourite pastimes - baking. On Wednesdays, an air of expectancy passes around head office as we await Wendy’s latest cooking creations - and she never disappoints. She is our own star baker and it’s a wonderful personal touch that reflects the friendships that she has developed with her colleagues over the years.”

Smith says: “I can’t believe I have been working here for 20 years. I’ve seen a lot of really positive changes, with the business growing and new people joining - yet it still feels like only yesterday that I stepped through the door on my first day.

“What keeps me coming back? Honestly, it is the lovely people. That’s something of which Robert and his new management team should be particularly proud. People make a business and that’s very true of Frank Key.

“I’m looking forward to many more years in the finance team and being part of this hugely successful family business that, even though it has grown, still places real value in its people.”

Picture: Wendy Smith and Frank Key Group Managing Director, James Norton