Colin, Freefoam's Commercial Director, gives us the background to his career and looks at the changes that have taken place in the roofline market over the last 15 years. He also shares with us some of his proudest achievements and thoughts on what might have been had his career path gone in a different direction.
1. You worked for Laing Homes and Marshall-Tufflex Window Systems before joining Freefoam Plastics – from your perspective how has the industry in general changed since the 80s and 90s?
Great question! It’s difficult to sum up 30 years in a few paragraphs, but I believe people’s attitudes have changed since I started. At work we’ve become more self-orientated, task driven and isolationist - as evidenced by self-employment in construction, now 49% of the labour force. This shift has contributed to the ‘I need it now’ demand being placed on supply chains.
2. And since you started working at Freefoam, could you give us an overview of how the roofline market has changed in the last 10 years or so?
I find the Roofline Market fascinating. Since 2001, the only constant has been change and the effect that’s had on the relevance of your offering in the market. And I love it!
When I look back over my Freefoam years I can see it’s been ‘a game of two halves’.
Before the 2008 recession there had been a tremendous amount of consolidation in the manufacturing sector. We lost several iconic brands such as Permacell, Procell and Hunter, while others started to slip back or fail. This created a landscape of opportunity as old traditional trading relationships were now open to discussion. So, if you were light on your feet – ‘agile’ to use one of today’s buzzwords – adaptable and used your ears and mouth in 2:1 proportion, there was business to be won. Freefoam made great progress during that period, and by 2008 we’d created the platform that has enabled us to win in ‘the second half’.
Around 2008, there was a seismic shift in roofline distribution which hardly registered at the installer/homeowner level. Although some manufacturers had already established an integrated manufacturing and distribution model, the financial crash and all that came after made it attractive to other roofline brands. The attraction was obvious - it was about control. The proportion of roofline products supplied through integrated providers grew rapidly to 55% by 2011.
I get the attraction of having the ability to enhance, protect and control your own supply chain. But when it’s used to influence, restrict and control the decision-making process of independent distributors it becomes something completely different. And if that all sounds a touch paranoid, the facts are the facts: here we are in 2019 and the proportion of roofline products supplied via integrated providers has grown significantly. And it’s still growing as the acquisition of independent stockists by integrated manufacturing groups continues.
In the last 10 years brands such as Celuform and BCE, and distributors such as National Plastics, SIG, and Shepperds have been absorbed into integrated manufacturing models, with the threat of other established brands being absorbed, and independent stockists being lost. The result for end-users is a reduction in choice, whether of product or choice of stockist to buy from.
Freefoam has always believed in an open, free market, and we’ve never tried to limit customers or restrict their choices, because we want customers and partners, not hostages! So, we put all our effort into helping customers grow and using the power of many to achieve our goals, because their growth is our growth. And we’ve continued to apply these principles to maintain our relevance in today’s market.
3. One of the major challenges facing the industry today is attracting new talent, could you give us some examples of how training differs from when you started in the industry, to how it is managed today?
When I first started my apprenticeship, training was a bit rough and ready. But I soon learned that no matter how big you are, no matter how aggressive you are willing to be in a work situation, you can’t force another human being to do something they don’t want to do. Freefoam’s focus is on bringing out the best qualities in people so they willingly contribute to delivering the best outcome for customers.
4. If you had the opportunity to go to a university of your choice, or become an apprentice in a trade of your choice today, what would you do and why?
You’d have to turn the clock back here! I’d like to have studied the science of Sports Movement at Loughborough University, because the best example I’ve ever seen of poetry in motion is Seb Coe. He studied there in what would have been my ‘Uni’ years.
5. What are your proudest achievements?
Putting all private moments to one side, I’d say what we have achieved, are achieving and have still to achieve at Freefoam are great sources of satisfaction to me. To have had the opportunity to be at the centre of all that has been very humbling. What I’m most proud of is we have delivered for all the stake holders in our business without any major dramas.
6. Describe a typical working day?
I don’t believe such a thing exists these days for me. I spend my time hoping for the best and planning for the worst.
7. What are your main interests away from work?
Football, Rugby, people watching - and James Bond-type films where the good guy is easily identifiable and always wins!