Victoria Williamson

Victoria (Vicky) Williamson, Project Manager, Service Operations, works at our Manchester, UK, site and has been with John Crane since 2012. In her current role, Vicky is responsible for John Crane’s service capabilities and digitizing processes to help improve efficiencies, global standardization and customer service experience.

Vicky began her career as an apprentice at a paper machine manufacturing plant where she supported the engineering department with its technical manual development. With her experience in the engineering department, she decided to get an engineering qualification. Vicky completed her National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in administration and started another NVQ in mechanical engineering, where she was the only woman in the class. After five years of learning theory and how the business worked, Vicky was offered an opportunity to move to the Applications/Sales team and pursue her Higher National Certificate (HNC) in mechanical engineering.

In August 2012, Vicky joined John Crane as a Feasibility Engineer, working directly with customers to understand their current reliability of rotating equipment. From there, she moved into sales and then management of service support teams. Today she is training to be a Project Manager and is using her expertise to digitize John Crane’s services.

“What attracted me to this industry was my dad being an electrical engineer and owning his own business,” said Vicky. “During school holidays, I’d work for him doing tasks for all departments, seeing how they worked together. So, to find an opportunity at an engineering company felt like home to me.”

Vicky’s favorite part about working at John Crane is the people. “I have met people at John Crane who have changed my life whether they realized it or not—from people who have guided me, given me advice or just inspired me to do more and keep working,” she said. “The opportunity to travel and meet people from all over the world is amazing and there are so many great people to work with. John Crane provides me with a sense of teamwork and friendship, which is why I think so many people stay for many years.”

In 2018 and 2019, Vicky was part of the Smiths Way Ambassadors at our Manchester site. She enjoyed the great challenge of figuring out how to engage people and bring everyone together. The Manchester site also hosts lunch and learns, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, they held virtual sessions to connect with colleagues around the world.

“The best advice I have ever been given was from my dad, who always told me if I enjoy what I’m doing, I’ll never work another day in my life,” said Vicky. “Taking that forward, I’ve always made work fun and that’s what has always given me the energy to keep going and do the best I can possibly do.”

In Vicky’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, who keeps her busy. She loves going to the gym and on walks, and playing the Nintendo Switch―either with or without her daughter. She and her family also spend time in the Lake District, where they have a caravan and visit Lake Windermere and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.