Each issue, we ask a flooring industry professional 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Duncan Owen, Divisional Manager, Oscrete Performance Additives.
10 QUESTIONS WITH... Q4
If you could hire any one person to be part of your
team, who would it be and why? I think Guy Martin would be a useful person to have around. He seems willing to have a go at anything and his enthusiasm is infectious. I’m not sure how he’d get on with the motorway traffic though as he likes to travel fast.
Q5 Q1
What was your first job? Straight from leaving school,
I was keen to start earning as soon as possible. I ended up taking a job in a factory that produced metal shop fittings in Aston, Birmingham. It was like stepping back in time as most of the processes hadn’t changed in the past 100 years. The people were fantastic though and were genuinely proud of the quality products they were producing.
Q2 Q3
How did you get into the industry?
I would say it was more luck than judgement. I had been looking at laboratory-based jobs when one came up at one of the big players in the construction industry. I started off in Quality Control before working my way up to new product development and now on to sales.
What has been your proudest moment?
Taking the leap from a technical role into sales as it’s something I never thought I’d do. I’m proud of the progress we have made since I joined Oscrete and look forward to this continuing.
44 | 10 QUESTIONS Q7
What do you think are the positive and negative
aspects of the flooring trade? I think over the last few years people
What’s the best advice you could give to
someone new coming into the industry? Just be willing to learn at every opportunity. Everyone starts from the same place and you will gain more respect asking ‘stupid’ questions than pretending to know what you are talking about.
Q6
If you could be any character from film or
TV who would you be? Probably Marty McFly, having a time machine would be extremely useful.
Q8
have been much more open to embracing new innovations and technologies which certainly hasn’t always been the case. Unfortunately, in the modern world there is always pressure to get things done quickly and at the lowest price point possible. In my experience it is usually the companies offering the best quality products and services who are the most successful.
What do you think the future holds for
flooring design? I’m not sure but I’m excited to find out. As with all industries there will be a focus on more sustainable and environmentally-friendly options. Any product that is highly compatible with underfloor heating systems will surely do well.
Q9
If you weren’t in flooring, what career
would you choose? I’d probably like to be an inventor of some sort. I’ve always loved tinkering with anything mechanical and trying to improve the way they work (not always successfully). It would be great to come up with something that could really improve people’s quality of life.
Q10
Ian Hebblewhite, Special Finishes
Manager, The Preparation Group asked: If you were to do it all again, what one thing in your career would you do differently? I’d have probably said ‘yes’ a few more times when opportunities came my way. You never really know what something is going to be like unless you try it.
www.osperse.co.uk
Check out next month’s issue to see what Duncan asked our next industry professional…
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