Katy meets... Ian and Kerry, Helping People Stay Independent at Home

By Katy O’Regan

Sometimes a business begins with a carefully written business plan. Other times, it grows from personal experience and an unexpected change in direction. For Congleton-based husband-and-wife team Ian and Kerry, founders of Helping Hand Stairlifts, it was very much the latter.

Their journey into the stairlift industry began during an incredibly difficult period for their family, after Ian’s dad was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND).

As his condition progressed rapidly over around 18 months, the family found themselves constantly adapting to his changing needs. Often, by the time specialist equipment had been ordered or made, his condition had already progressed and something different was needed.

“We started sourcing good-quality second-hand equipment ourselves because we needed things quickly,” Ian explains. “We learnt an enormous amount in a very short space of time.”

After Ian’s dad sadly passed away, the family was left with a considerable amount of equipment that was no longer needed. Having experienced first-hand just how difficult it could be to find the right support quickly and affordably, Ian and Kerry began to realise that what they had learnt during such a difficult time could perhaps be used to help other families facing similar challenges.

They started by finding new homes for the equipment they already had, before sourcing other good-quality used products, carefully reconditioning them and providing warranties. Within months, they discovered stairlifts – and something clicked.

Ian travelled to Yorkshire to undertake manufacturer training with Acorn and Brooks Stairlifts and, what began through personal experience gradually developed into a specialist family business. Thirteen years later, Helping Hand Stairlifts is still run by Ian and Kerry, and that personal approach remains at the heart of everything they do.

Today, a majority of their work involves reconditioned lifts, particularly curved stairlifts. Importantly, they know exactly where their lifts have come from, only sourcing suitable models that were originally installed new to manufacturer standards.

Where possible, they look for particularly young lifts – sometimes only weeks or months old – which can then be carefully inspected and reconditioned ready for their next home.

It can make a considerable difference to cost. A curved stairlift costing several thousand pounds new can potentially be supplied reconditioned for significantly less.

There is an environmental benefit too, with rails, electronics and other components being reused rather than unnecessarily replaced.

But what struck me most when speaking to Ian was that this isn’t really a story about stairlifts. It is about what being able to access your own home can mean. Ian recalled recently fitting a stairlift for a lady who had been confined downstairs, sleeping in a hospital bed and unable to access her bathroom.

“When I finished and went back into the living room, the customer said, ‘I don’t think you’ll have ever seen anyone with a bigger smile, I’m so happy.’ She could get upstairs again and use her home normally. That never gets boring.”

That understanding comes directly from Ian and Kerry’s own experience. They know how quickly circumstances can change and how families can suddenly find themselves trying to solve a problem they never expected to face.

Their modular stairlift system means even complicated curved staircases can often be accommodated quickly, with the rail built bespoke to fit the staircase on the day. After 13 years in the industry, Ian can recall only a couple of properties where they couldn’t provide a suitable solution themselves – and even then, they helped find an alternative.

Once installed, the support doesn’t stop. Customers receive a 12-month warranty, ongoing telephone support and access to servicing and maintenance. Most importantly, the relationship doesn’t simply end with the installation. Ian and Kerry have deliberately kept the business personal.

Customers deal directly with them, with Kerry handling enquiries, administration and quotations, while Ian brings his years of practical experience to the installation side. It means that, despite the business growing, they have retained the compassionate, individual service on which Helping Hand Stairlifts was built.

While plans are underway to grow the new stairlift side of the business nationally in partnership with manufacturers, their local reconditioned and new stairlift service remains very much hands-on.

For some customers, a stairlift may only be needed temporarily; for others, it can remain in place for many years. Either way, something relatively simple can make an enormous difference, helping people move safely around their own home and importantly, maintain their independence for longer.

As Ian puts it, Helping Hand Stairlifts was never born from spotting a gap in the market. It came from looking after his dad.

“We came into it through personal experience. We learnt so much during those 18 months and, afterwards, we were able to turn that knowledge into something useful and pass it on to help other people.”

Thirteen years later, that experience still sits at the heart of what Ian and Kerry do.