IN THE HOT SEAT Simon
How did you get into the industry? I got into the industry through my dad. He was the managing director of Costan UK in the late eighties. He wanted me to have an all-round experience because I’m not an engineer. He put me out with general refrigeration for six months working with service engineers, so that I got a bit of an idea of what it’s like to work in the field.
Then I worked in the Costan factory for a month or two, and my dad put me in every single department from working in the warehouse to working in accounts so that in the end I had a full round knowledge of what goes on and what everybody’s skills are and how they all fit together. That experience has really helped me with my career. I’m not an expert in any single one of those areas – I lean more towards sales and marketing – but I have an appreciation for everyone’s needs. For example, from a service engineer’s point of view, just that little bit of experience has influenced how I look at products – how is the engineer going to work on this?
What is you biggest achievement so far? Pastorfrigor’s determination to have me head up this operation! I’ve sold a lot of cabinets over the years and been involved with some great projects with Coca Cola, as well as developing concept stores with retailers – but the fact that a manufacturer really hunted me down to look after their interests in the UK kind of meant that I’d achieved something.
What do you enjoy most about the industry? It does sound predictable, but I really do
20 January 2018
Managing director of Pastorfrigor GB
Robinson
get a buzz from sitting down with retailers, finding out what they need and it gives me a chance to be creative, which is more my kind of thing. There are always challenges. Being involved in any kind of concept store with a retailer is really my forte. They have a set of requirements that they need and I relish the challenge of finding them a solution. It’s never rocket science, it’s always a variation of something that’s already out there. But it’s a case of making sure everything fits together and meets the retailer’s requirements.
What’s the best aspect of the industry? I like the camaraderie. We’re all in competition with each other, but we can attend events together and share ideas, share experiences. That’s quite unusual in any industry that you can do that. But it’s in the best interests of the industry and our customers, and that’s something quite special I think.
What do you most dislike about the industry? Not always having a level playing field. I’m not naive enough to think it’s always going to be perfectly level and fair, but I do think that the way I’ve always conducted myself has been with an honest and fair approach to everything. But I think this industry has some quarters that can twist and change things to suit their commercial needs. Having said that, I do think that if the new Ecodesign Directive goes through, then that will actually clear that up, which is quite encouraging.
What’s the worst part of the industry? We’re all being driven down on cost. Retailers are saying that they need more energy
efficiency, more green, more sustainability, all of those things, and then when you speak to them it’s all about cost. While I don’t think it should cost an absolute fortune to have something efficient, people have got to start looking at the complete lifecycle. It seems to me that it was that way five years ago, but recently I’m finding that it’s come straight back to cost again. Which is a shame because if you’ve got no margins, you can’t invest in the technology.
What’s the biggest challenge ahead? Brexit and the whole uncertainty it’s bringing. A big chunk of the equipment in this country is imported, and those that do manufacture here import a lot of components, so we’re all going to be affected by it, and it’s going to affect costs. In the meantime, we’re in a kind of limbo with massive uncertainty – how do we position ourselves? Retailers are in the same boat really, and no one knows what to do or what to expect. We’re entering into tender agreements and it’s very difficult to give any long term planning on costs and pricing when you just don’t know what’s around the corner. On the positive side, being part of an Italian company, there’s no feeling of being left out. Everyone still sees the UK as a massive and dynamic market, and wants to be a part of it.
What’s the biggest opportunity ahead? Tough times can help focus on real ground- breaking innovations. When you’ve got to be price sensitive while developing efficient, recyclable and sustainable products, I think the innovative manufacturers step up. We’re already starting to see products coming
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