Working at being independent

Carl Ford gave up a career in mechanical engineering and technical sales to campaign for independent living until his problems using hoists inspired him to come up with a solution that brought him full circle back to working as an engineer

I did a three year apprenticeship with Bristol Poly and Rolls Royce, qualified as a mechanical engineer, stayed with Rolls Royce for one year and then went to Michelin to work as a technical sales person. As an extrovert I was suited to selling. I worked all over the country and then an opportunity came up to work in Oman. I’d been very involved in hang gliding in the UK and seven months after arriving in Oman I damaged my spine in a flying accident and became a wheelchair-user.

I was flown back to the UK and spent seven months at Stoke Mandeville and then, as there were no independent living options available, I moved back with my parents in Bristol for a year. Michelin offered me a job at their factory in Stoke-on-Trent and as a temporary measure I moved into a Leonard Cheshire home. At the age of 28 it was a shock to be in such an institutional setting.

A further shock came when the local authority then told me that I was adequately housed at the Cheshire home and they would not be supporting me to live independently in the community.

I heard that a group of residents in another Leonard Cheshire home had taken the running of it into their own hands. I drove off to visit them and became involved in the fight for independent living.

Meanwhile, my ambitions at Michelin weren’t working out as the factory wasn’t accessible so I left and became a full time campaigner for indepen­dent living, lobbying government and working with local authorities.

I’d acquired a spinal injury after having had the life and educational opportunities afforded to a non-disabled person, so I had confidence doing this that maybe someone who’d been born with say CP might not have had the chance to develop.

It was a trip to Germany that led to me using my engineering skills again. My ability to transfer from my wheelchair was impaired so I cobbled together a solution from aluminium poles and string: a hoist to let me transfer with one person’s help.

I applied for a Smart Award to develop the idea into a commercial product, received £40,000 towards research and I was right back to being an engineer again! The product is now called the Travel Track: it’s lightweight, easy to handle, quick to erect and doesn’t take up much space. My skills in technical sales have helped me promote it and it’s hugely rewarding to know that my invention helps people to travel confidently.

• Carl Ford was talking to Kelly Mullan

Carl Ford: Career Path

1972-1976 – Professional apprenticeship in mechanical engineering with Bristol Poly and Rolls Royce
1976-1980 – Joined Michelin as a technical sales person
1983 – current – Became a campaigner for independent living
1988-1991 – Worked as a Citizen Advice Bureau adviser
1993-2005 – with Shropshire organisation of disabled people as a director
1995 – Present – Worked for National Centre for Independent Living setting up local schemes and with project work
1999 – present – Invented and promoted the “Travel Track”
2002-2004 – Disability Wales self-employment project adviser