This is David Goodger’s last day at Ideal, after 38 years with us.
That kind of loyal, long-term service is so incredibly rare nowadays.
David is written into the history and the very foundations of Ideal, the products we make and wherever we go from here. It’s blue plaque status.
It all started back in the heady Old Spice scented days of the early 1970’s when Dr Mike Kalli was looking for work after finishing his PhD. He was appointed Deputy Chief Chemist at the British Hydrological Corporation (BHC), where David was already working as a young, bright lab assistant. That’s where they met. Two very different chemists… destined for detergent greatness!
Mike left BHC after two years, to set up a new company and the very first person he looked to recruit was David. The right appointment when you need a rock solid, loyal and honest foundation. It was the beginning of the Ideal adventure…
In the 38 years since, David has been the counterpoint to my dad’s energetic search for new opportunities. He’s seen it all in his various roles, whilst trying to make sure that things kept rolling back at basecamp. Between them, they’ve worked on everything from graffiti remover to stonewash jeans (it was the 80s). They’ve made the products that wash the royal smalls and tackle the dirtiest premier league football kits. Their brains helped launch a thousand brands, from behind the scenes! Some truly great… and some that turned out less so. Together, they’ve taken on much much bigger chemical suppliers by being faster, more flexible, fair, nice and often, just really good at chemistry.
David has, at one time or another, been the factory manager, a development chemist, purchaser, chief tester, blender, bottle washer, production director, technical director, office manager and even shop errand runner!
It’s disappointing that this current situation has forced David to see out the last month of his time with Ideal from home. It’s not at all what anyone wanted. In his own words, this surreal final instalment to such an incredible period of service “feels like finishing a race under the safety car”.
David has been a dependable, professional, intelligent, loyal and thoroughly decent member of the team, with good business ethics and a commitment to serving the best interests of Ideal.
The whole Ideal team would like to extend their sincere thanks for everything David has been through with Ideal over the last four decades, the many ups and the many downs. We’re potentially facing one of the worst downs ever right now. But, we’ll get through it, thanks to the solid foundations he has helped us to build.
Wishing you all the very best in your retirement David. You are welcome back at Ideal, anytime!
