Robin Kay: A Tribute
Goodbye to a Great Man
It was with infinite sadness the Company announced the death of its much-loved Managing Director, Robin Kay, on 02 March 2022.
Robin’s incredible run as MD at OKAY Engineering started upon the death of his own father in 1975 and lasted until his retirement in 2020, only two years before his sad loss to cancer in March this year. In addition to his 45 years as MD, Robin acutally worked at OKAY for over 60 years and he was devoted to it. An accountant by training, he also had the warm personality to bring in sales. Over all those years he steered the business through seizmic market changes, technology changes, changing customers, changing competitors as well as four major recessions but mostly very good and happy times.
Under his care, the Company developed from a design house for conveyors to a manufacturer of recycling equipment and, later, a design-and-build specialist for MRFs and waste processing plants.
Robin was also a well-known, highly respected and very popular figure in the recycling industry and we were overcome at the number of tributes we received as the news of his death spread around the sector. We are very proud of him and all he achieved, and that he was ours. He has left us with a fantastic company built upon his belief that “In our business, the customer is king!” We will ensure the business remains guided by this core principle while we also develop his passion for standard machines customised to bespoke applications.
At his funeral, there was a tribute to Robin by his daughters Natalie Hollobone and Antonia Kay, OKAY’s current MD, and these are reproduced here, along with the Order of Service and musical tribute. This is so those who knew Robin, as well as those who did not, can retain an impression of a wonderful man and a much-loved MD.
He will forever be remembered with great affection.
Robin Kay 1941-2022