Kim Hancox is Purchasing Administrator at Hi-Level Mezzanines, a role that places her at the heart of the company’s supply chain. She joined in February 2025, keen to return to an office environment after more than a decade caring for an elderly gentleman.
Before that, she had been office manager for a business making protective radiator covers for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and other settings where vulnerable people could be harmed by hot surfaces.
Today, Kim helps ensure that the many components needed for Hi-Level’s bespoke mezzanine projects reach the right place at the right time. It is detailed, fast-moving work, and she enjoys the sense of purpose it brings. “There’s always something to be doing,” she says. “I get up in the morning and look forward to my day.”
Keeping every project moving
Kim begins by checking emails to confirm that deliveries have reached site and everyone is where they should be. A motorway accident, an unwell driver or a last-minute delay can quickly affect a carefully planned schedule, so early communication with factories, suppliers, fabricators and hauliers is essential.
She then checks order acknowledgements against what the production team has requested. Once drawings have been approved by the detailers or senior colleagues, she processes orders for the components that will bring the structure together.
She also prepares loading lists, ideally a week ahead, telling factories and haulage companies what is being collected, when it must be delivered and who the site contacts are.
Another part of Kim’s day involves working closely with our Contracts team. Using Hi-Level’s large plotter, she prints “giant” drawings for installers and for colleagues. These documents help the site team assemble the mezzanine accurately.
A recent site visit
A recent site visit near Portsmouth brought the importance of Kim’s work vividly to life. The building was still a shell, allowing her to see the columns, beams and fixings before offices were constructed around them. “Seeing it made me realise that nothing can be forgotten. Whether it is one screw or a seven-metre beam, every component is just as important.”
That attention to detail is even more valuable when Hi-Level is delivering very large projects. The more complex the job, the more people and moving parts are involved. For Kim, the reward comes when everything has arrived, the installation is complete and the whole structure stands exactly as planned.
Part of a supportive team
Kim particularly enjoys the camaraderie at Hi-Level. “We can be under a lot of pressure because we are so busy, so it is important that we work well together,” she says. “We support each other, know when somebody needs picking up and can have a laugh, but everyone remains focused on the end result.”
She contributes to that culture beyond purchasing, too. Kim organised the Hi-Level Olympics and a quiz for the company summer barbecue, and joined colleagues on a visit to the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as part of our donation towards work at their St Catherine’s Hill site.
Living locally means Kim can walk to work, but it is the people and the satisfaction of a job well done that make her genuinely happy to arrive each morning. “I really enjoy coming here,” she says. “We have a great team relationship, and I’m very happy where I am.”
For 30 years we have been creating space for amazing things to happen. Contact us today for more information at [email protected] or call 01730 237 190.
Read more from our Day in the Life series here: Gerald David, Johanna Baranda, Leeroy Reynolds, Luis Puglisi, Sion Walton, Victoria Steel-Page, Beth Carter and Chris Baxter.
