FEATURE
at successful businesses, they are always trying to innovate and bring something different to the market. Even though we’re a small business today, we need to do the same thing.
“THIS INTERNATIONAL DEMAND FOR PYROGUARD’S PRODUCTS DEMONSTRATES THAT THEY CAN DO THE JOB THEY WERE DESIGNED FOR EXTREMELY WELL.”
“It’s a logical approach – why wouldn’t we want to build a long term future for the business? That has been a criticism of British industry in the past, so I like to think that we’re taking a medium to long term approach.”
Key to the efficacy of the Pyroguard range is the company’s signature fire-resistant resin. Already on its seventh evolution, the team is always working to optimise the recipe. Apart from the vital role the resin plays in resisting flames and strengthening glass, it also helps to keep people calm during an emergency evacuation from fire.
As flames rage on one side of the glass, the resin is activated and begins to turn from its transparent state to an opaque white. Whether in a glass door panel or glass partition wall, the resin blocks the fire from view. At a time when emotions will already be running high, this prevents spreading even more panic among people who have to pass the glass to escape from the building. It is carefully considered touches like these that demonstrate Pyroguard’s approach to doing business – and they don’t only crop up in the products.
David Jolliffe is one of those CEOs whose customers genuinely matter to him and he is on a mission to demystify the world of fire safety solutions. David recognises that Pyroguard’s customers are unlikely to be specialists in fire glass and so the company invites them to training sessions at CGI International’s HQ:
“We will quite happily field questions from clients but if we can make them more comfortable in the fire glass arena, they are more likely to be confident in pitching for
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that work themselves and hopefully that will have a knock-on benefit for CGI as a business.
“The other reason for inviting clients in is to show them that we take this very, very seriously. Over the years, we have run a number of product training sessions for clients. Sometimes we’ll bring in an independent person to talk about how building control looks at things, for example. For the clients, they see that we value their business and we’re happy to share information with them, that we want to make their job easier.”
With fire glass solutions being such technical products, this training is invaluable for Pyroguard and its client base. As David points out: “If our customers have got a business which is an installer/fabricator and maybe only 20% of their work is on fire- resistant glass, they’re not necessarily going to be specialists in the fire certification or building legislation surrounding that. And that’s why we have quite deliberately set ourselves up to be specialists in that arena – so that we can help.”
With so many aspects of health and safety to be considered, it is often the smart choice to call the experts for help. That doesn’t always mean going to the biggest or most well- known player in the field. Often, their sheer size and spread of business means customers do not get the guidance that smaller companies like Pyroguard can offer. The question is as these smaller companies grow can they can continue to provide the level of service that sets them apart?
David Jolliffe, for one, is optimistic. Reflecting on the last year and looking ahead to the next, he concluded: “We’ve invested a lot in bringing additional technical and sales resource into our business. We’ve brought in some very, very good people. We’ve invested not just in the plant, but we’ve invested in people for the last year. In 2015, we’re determined to really grow the business on the back of that.”
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