2002 saw the retirement of two of East Lancashire's best-known entrepreneurs -- Mavis Gradwell, the managing director of Altham-based corporate clothing specialist Simon Jersey, and John Lancaster, founder of the Ultraframe group in Clitheroe.
Mavis, a former finalist in the Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year Awards, joined the company as a part-time-secretary in 1974. Her rise through the ranks coincided with rapid growth into an international market leader with clients such as American Airlines, Hertz and Securicor.
She was first appointed a director in 1986 and became managing director in 1996 when the company's founder Simon Moyes retired.
John Lancaster launched the Ultraframe business in 1983 and masterminded its growth into the world's largest supplier of conservatory roofing systems.
When the company floated on the Stock Exchange in 1995, he gave away millions of pounds worth of shares to his workers and set up a multi-million-pound charitable foundation. His last gesture as an executive director was to give each of his 850 staff a £1,000 Christmas bonus.
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