Family-owned Draper Tools is spending October celebrating the loyalty of its workforce, with 107 of its 259 UK and Ireland employees having been with the company for at least ten years.

That figure includes 58 colleagues with between ten and 24 years' service, 41 with between 25 and 39 years, and eight who have been part of the team for more than four decades. Nearly one-in-five Draper employees has worked for the business for a quarter of a century or longer. Between them, its long-serving colleagues account for well over 1,900 years of service.

Draper usually marks work anniversaries individually with a presentation. However, with more colleagues than ever reaching long service milestones, the company brought as many of them together as possible this year for a series of celebratory photoshoots at its Chandler's Ford and North Baddesley sites. The portraits will be displayed around the headquarters and shared online throughout October.

Tom Draper, Co-Chair of Draper Tools, said: "It feels very special to have so many long serving colleagues at Draper and we want to say a huge thank you to them. Their passion and expertise have helped shape the company into what it is today, and we're all very proud of this milestone. It really is a testament to the supportive, friendly and nurturing culture we've built together.

"We're still growing, and more than 100 people have joined us in the last five years alone. We're always keen to hear from talented local people looking for somewhere to build a career. Hopefully some of them will be celebrating their own milestones here one day."

Founded in 1919 by Bert Draper, Draper Tools is still family owned and run by the fourth generation of the Draper family. Recent investments include a state-of-the-art warehouse, a large-scale solar panel installation, and the acquisition of specialist trade brands Van Vault and Defender.

Draper's office team remains at Chandler's Ford, while all warehousing now operates from North Baddesley. The vacant logistics space at Chandler's Ford now houses Draper Self Storage, which opened in 2024. The space will also soon be home to a six-court indoor padel centre operated by Padel Stars.