PHOTO: D2N2 LEP Board member, Becky Rix at Roadgas headquarters in Colwick, Nottingham
Becky Rix is Marketing Director at Roadgas Limited, a local Small / Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that supplies compressed and liquified gas refuelling infrastructure and equipment for dispensing alternative fuels into the heavy transport sector.
Becky was appointed to the D2N2 LEP Board in 2021 with a remit to focus the Board’s attention on their low carbon agenda and to drive green growth within the D2N2 region. Becky co-chairs D2N2 LEP’s Low Carbon Growth Group and was a founding member of the D2N2 LEP Hydrogen Taskforce.
In this article Becky reflects on her role as the director of her SME and D2N2 LEP Board Member and shares her thoughts on the importance of low carbon growth for our region’s future.
Becky says:
“I joined the D2N2 LEP Board in 2021 as a representative of a small business that’s focused on low carbon growth and based in the D2N2 region. I’ve been delighted to support the LEP’s strategy for hydrogen as there’s a great synergy between my low carbon portfolio and the business that I lead.
“My role on the D2N2 LEP Board also meets my personal ambition to develop our young people. I’m passionate about the importance of good careers education and have just taken on the role of Enterprise Adviser at a local school in my borough. I am a huge advocate of the importance of skills, diversity and inclusion, because at the end of the day, business is all about people. Our region’s going to need over 27,000 engineers in the next 10 to 15 years, so low carbon skills, particularly nuclear and hydrogen, will be highly sought-after. It’s absolutely critical that we work with our local schools to explain and promote the opportunities coming on-stream and the skills that we will need to develop to fulfil these roles.
“As Marketing Director at Roadgas, I really enjoy my job. The funny thing is, I never intended to be so involved in the business. Roadgas was set up by my husband and the original plan was for him to build the business, with me in a support role. But COVID-19 meant that we had to completely re-evaluate our plans. We had invested so much in the business and, in order to safeguard its future, I took on the role of full time Director and became part of the leadership team. My day job now also includes HR, and learning and development for all team members.
“Strategically, seeing the overall picture of how the business is performing is so rewarding. We’ve grown the team from five to 14 employees in a relatively short timeframe and we’ve invested in building a ‘great’ team. Getting the right people for your business and giving them the right support, as well as development opportunities, is so important. Being a small business, we grow organically and so we have the opportunity to develop and grow our employees as the business grows.
“We currently have one of our service engineers doing a Level 3 apprenticeship at Nottingham College, as well as our Business Development Manager studying for his Level 6 Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship at Nottingham Trent University. The support we receive from our local FE and HE providers is vital for skills development.
“Alongside our team development, we also invest in our local community and I’m delighted to report that Roadgas is a very proud sponsor of the girls’ and women’s rugby community programme at Nottingham Rugby, where girls of all ages are able to take advantage of coaching and skills training. As a team, we regularly attend matches at the Bay and I’m so proud of everything the programme has achieved to date.
“I’m also passionate about promoting and supporting smaller organisations in the engineering sector and its supply chain, as we don’t always get the focus that the larger global engineering companies in our region receive. Take the hydrogen economy for example – this is a sector in its innovation and development stage which will lead to a number of different jobs and opportunities in a wide range of organisations over the coming years. Roadgas joined the East Midlands Hydrogen Consortium back in March, and as the largest inland hydrogen cluster in the UK, is a unique collaboration made up of over 60 businesses, large and small. Across all aspects of the hydrogen value chain, the opportunity this presents to be a game-changer for our region is really exciting.
“Reflecting on my D2N2 LEP Board role, coming from a small business it was a little daunting at first, sitting amongst some very influential and senior role models in the region! However, being part of those Board discussions has really extended my understanding of regional development work and helped to clarify the role my business can play in D2N2. I’ve really enjoyed learning about how D2N2 LEP works, how it operates and why it needs people like me. It has also given me lots of opportunities to interface and interact with academics and business leaders, both in the public and private sectors. Being able to reach out to my Board colleagues and their extensive network has been invaluable.
“I think the future looks very positive for Roadgas. We are fully focused on decarbonisation, one of the key priorities for our region and we’ll continue to champion this agenda. I’m excited about the mayoral elections in early May and I would urge the new East Midlands Mayor to keep decarbonisation high on their list of priorities. In my view, we could and should make the East Midlands the hydrogen centre for the UK and step up to lead the way.
“I would also urge the new Mayor to champion our strengths and opportunities as a region. We’re right in the centre of the country; many people drive through and across our region, but do they know what we stand for and what our strengths are? I suspect not – let’s change that! My hope for the future is that we shout about our successes, that we punch above our weight and extend greater recognition for what we excel at. I stand ready to support the new Mayor and hope to continue to play a role in driving decarbonisation for our region.”
About Becky Rix
Becky Rix is Marketing Director at Roadgas Limited. Becky has significant international marketing experience with blue chip companies such as Bass plc, Inchcape and DHL Worldwide Express working on both the client and agency side of her profession.
Becky drives all communications across the business including monitoring the company’s brand across all channels as well as having responsibility for the company’s online presence, PR, advertising, wider industry relations and networking.
Becky has responsibility for delivering the Roadgas Sustainability Plan 2021-2026 as one of the company’s seven pillars for growth (RGL Strategic Plan 2023-2027) as well as the day to day responsibility for HR, Training and Quality across the business.
About Roadgas
Roadgas supplies compressed & liquified gas refuelling infrastructure and equipment for dispensing alternative fuels in the industrial and transport sectors. The company’s focus for growth concentrates on the use of green gases – biomethane, biogas and ultimately hydrogen to drive net zero emissions and decarbonisation plans for UK fleets in light of the UK Government’s Net Zero 2050 targets.
Roadgas is supported by a progressive leadership team. The company has a strong strategic vision for growth in the next 5-7 years and is excited to be at the forefront of the UK’s green recovery.
D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) covers the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region, convening the businesses, universities, colleges and local authorities in our region to drive low carbon, economic growth and productivity, skills & careers, inclusion and delivery excellence. The D2N2 LEP team and functions will transition into the East Midlands Combined County Authority during 2024.
For media enquiries, contact:
Nicola Swaney
Head of External Affairs, D2N2 LEP
Nicola.Swaney@d2n2lep.org
