Rope Assemblies Joins the Unusual Family

5th September 2017

Retford based Rope Assemblies has been bought by the Unusual group of companies following the decision by its owners to take early retirement. Rope Assemblies has been supplying bespoke wire and fibrerope assemblies, plus a wide range of lifting equipment, to its customer base worldwide since 1986, and this will continue to be the case.

Alan Jacobi, managing director at Unusual, explained: "We recognise Rope Assemblies as a good fit to our business; it is managed well, and served by an experienced and long standing workforce.  Our intention is to allow Rope Assemblies to continue doing what it has been doing extremely well for the last 30 years. We will bring the brand under the Unusual umbrella, but everything else will remain the same. We intend using the acquisition as a way of improving our market offer to existing clients, and to cultivate the wider industrial sector. Rope Assemblies has been a family business for over three decades – it is now joining the Unusual family and will continue to flourish."

Siobhan Hitchen, managing director of Rope Assemblies added: "After working for the last 20 years with a fabulous team at Rope Assemblies Ltd, I have decided to take the opportunity for an early retirement. The company, started by my parents Mary and Terry Hitchen in 1986, has grown from strength to strength and now, following the purchase by Alan Jacobi and his team at Unusual, has the opportunity to grow even further."

Alan and Peta Jacobi will become directors of Rope Assemblies along with Unusual's finance director, Brian Rose.  They will sit alongside existing directors, Linda Martin and Gillian Sales. Brian commented: "This is an exciting time for both Alan and myself. In all our decades working together, this is the first time we have amalgamated a truly complimentary business with our own. It adds a new dimension to our working relationship and provides us with more challenges, which we relish."

Brian continued: "One of the first issues we addressed was to reassure Rope Assemblies' staff that their jobs were secure, and we met with every employee to tell them face to face that their job was protected."

Siobhan concluded: "Terry and I could not think of anyone better to take on the mantle, and we would like to thank all the staff, customers and suppliers who have helped in the advancements made by Rope Assemblies, and we wish all the very best to both companies in this new venture."