Who was Brian Nealon?

Brian Nealon was co-founder of Bendigo Mitchell in 1978 and Managing Director until his very sudden and sad death in November 2010, when he was succeeded by his son, Duncan.

Brian was a very well known businessman in the Midlands. Having worked in the forklift truck industry for over 50 years, he was also extremely well known and respected within the industry. He served on the board of the Fork Lift Truck Association for over 20 years, serving two terms as both Chairman and President.

In 2011, Brian received the Fork Lift Truck Association Lifetme Achievement Award. It was the first time this award has been presented posthumously, and an extremely proud day for everyone at Bendigo Mitchell.

Below is a video of the award presentation.

 

 

When Brian died, we received many letters and emails, from customers, suppliers and competitors. There were a few consistent themes to all of the letters. Below is a word cloud showing what people said. Not a bad assessment, we thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post script: after Brian's death, his family requested that in place of flowers, donations be made to The Children's Society (a charity Brian supported throughout his life) and the Ettington Community First Responders who were on hand within literally minutes of his heart attack. While they were unable to save Brian, their good work has saved many other lives.

Many donations were made from within the forklift truck industry, and Brian's family was delighted to receive a letter from the Ettington Community Responders Scheme saying that 'with a purchase price almost identical to the donations received, we have been able to purchase a scheme car.' This car will be invaulable to the ECFRS as they seek to continue their good work within the community, and on behalf of Brian's family and colleagues, we thank everyone for their generosity.

Below is an article from the local paper, giving news of the purchase:

 

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