The last 12 months have been some of the busiest yet for our teams here at Howco. From the UK to the US, Dubai to Singapore, we’ve hosted events, participated in charity fundraising, marked key dates on the calendar and made time to have fun with our colleagues.
2024 saw Howco’s parent company, Sumitomo Corporation Group mark its 105th year in business. Its values of unity, integrity, diversity, respect and the power of many have been central to the initiatives we’ve enjoyed outside of work over the course of the past 12 months.
While some of these activities have formed part of our Corporate Social Responsibility program and enabled us to give back to our local communities, others have been fun social occasions to catch up with workmates. Read on to find out just some of what we’ve been up to at Howco locations across the globe. We’ve also included a slide show below of some of the photos.
February: Chinese New Year Bento (Singapore)
Lunar New Year is an important day of celebrations for many of our Asian and Southeast Asian team members. Our Singapore location couldn’t let the day pass without gathering to enjoy some delicious food and welcome the Year of the Dragon.
March: Houston Reads Day (Houston)
In March, several of our Houston colleagues participated in the annual Houston Reads Day. They visited a local school and spent time reading books to Pre-K through 3rd-grade students. The initiative, which is organised by Literacy Now, intends to spark a passion for literacy in local children by sharing the magic of storytelling with them.
May & November: Appreciation Lunches (Singapore)
In May and November, we held two ‘Appreciation Lunches’ in Singapore. These events are a tasty way to say thank you and show appreciation for everyone’s hard work through the year. The regular lunches are a great social occasion which recognise everyone’s contribution to our Singapore site’s success through the year.
June: Rail Corridor Walk (Singapore)
Did you know, Singapore is one of the healthiest countries in the world? It has 10 times more centenarians than the United States. Here at Howco, we’re delighted to be able to support that tradition by helping our team members enjoy a good work-life balance. Health and wellness is a site-wide passion for our Singapore team, with a team walk taking place on set weekends through the year.
July: Fruits Feast (Singapore)
Once a month, our health-conscious Singapore site has a ‘Health Day’ with healthy food available to all. In July, it was a delicious fruits feast with fruity snacks to boost energy levels and refresh our team during the hot, sticky, Singapore summer.
August: Community Litter Pick (Sheffield)
You might know Sheffield as an industrial and manufacturing city, but it also has an abundance of canals and green spaces – including right on our doorstop! As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility program, we spent an hour litter picking in August. That may not sound like a lot of time, but in just 60 minutes we collected 20 large bags of litter from the roads, footpaths and river walkway close to our site. That totalled an enormous 150kg of deposited waste. To keep our volunteers refreshed during the beautiful summer weather, our local RAG ‘N BONE social enterprise joined us. They not only took care of the litter we collected, but they also served up cooling iced teas and a restorative slice of cake in their sunny garden area.
August: Summer Bank Holiday Weekend Socials (Bredbury and Sheffield)
Although the UK weather wasn’t as warm and sunny as it could have been, it didn’t stop the teams at Bredbury and Sheffield enjoying themselves. Bredbury had a BBQ and Sheffield had a hog roast complete with a human version of table-top football/foosball which created plenty of friendly competition between teams.
September: Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning (all UK sites)
There are more than a few budding Bake Off stars in our Sheffield office so where better to host a coffee morning to raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support? We joined thousands of other workplaces across the country in coming together for a cuppa and a delicious home-baked cake. We’re delighted to say that the bakes were delicious, and we raised £504 for Macmillan Cancer Support!
October: Hill Hiking (Singapore)
In October, colleagues from the Howco location in Singapore strapped on their walking boots and spent the weekend hill hiking. This was part of the Singapore office’s ongoing health and wellness program and a fantastic way to appreciate Singapore’s abundance of natural beauty.
October: World Mental Health Day (all sites)
As our Singapore office has shown, we’re a health conscious group here at Howco! But we always want to remember that good health isn’t just feeling physically fit, it’s also about supporting each other with our mental health and wellbeing. That’s why we planned a series of informative talks and hands on workshops across all 10 Howco locations for World Mental Health Day on 19 October. Our teams tucked into delicious Wellbeing Breakfasts, stepped out for some fresh air during Lunchtime Walk ‘n’ Talk sessions, and sat in on a series of interesting presentations with tips and practical strategies for managing daily challenges.
November: Volunteer at The Food Bank (Singapore)
Food insecurity is a persistent problem worldwide, but Howco staff are proud to do our bit to make a difference. In November, our Singapore team volunteered at The Food Bank Singapore. A small act with a big impact, our team helped with essential tasks such as organising and sorting new donations, stock taking and inventory management, packing food and keeping the warehouse clean and tidy.
December: UAE National Day (Dubai)
Just a few weeks ago, we were proud to celebrate the 53rd Eid Al Etihad (National Day) at our Dubai office. Our HQ became a beautiful festive, fun and vibrant space where we came together to celebration as a team. It was a fantastic end to a busy year of social events and community initiatives and a great reminder of the UAE and our own shared values of diversity, unity and togetherness.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about what goes on behind-the-scenes at the Howco Group. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in 2024. We wish you a happy 2025!