Staff happy business has stayed in Enfield after riots fire (From Enfield Independent)

Staff happy business has stayed in Enfield after riots fire

3:55pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Bruce Thain

Staff at the Sony distribution centre which was opened by the Prime Minister say they are happy the business has stayed in Enfield.

Last year the centre, in Solar Way, was burned down in the riots and led to 25 per cent of the UK’s DVDs, CD and Blu-rays stock was lost.

During the last 23 weeks the company has rebuilt the centre in record time and has kept its staff from the Enfield area.

Michale Strapher, who lives in Enfield Town, has worked for Sony for 13 years and saw the fire take hold of the building in during the riots.

He said: “When I first heard the building was on fire I felt utter devastation. I’ve worked here since we first started using the building 12 years ago.

“The next day the all of the staff were shocked and angry at what had happened. But after some time that subsided and we had to plan our next move.

“Our main aim was to make sure we retained our Enfield staff and we made sure they all knew that as soon as possible. It’s great to be back in Enfield and I’m so happy we were able to stay.”

Dan Hornsey, has worked for the company for nearly 4 years and lives in Enfield Island Village near the distribution centre.

He said: “I suddenly heard a loud explosion and I immediately ran outside the front of my flat and could see plumes of thick black smoke pump in the air.

“My initial thought was fear that my fellow colleagues could still be in the building which luckily was not the case.

“As a company we were not going to let this destruction defeat us and I believe one of the main reasons for this was the determination of the staff over the past year to get back to where we are today."

The new distribution centre is now two metres taller than the old one and the site now has a new security system to protect staff and the premises.