10 QUESTIONS WITH… Q4


If you could hire anyone to be part of your team,


who would it be and why? Any of the dragons from Dragons’ Den; their experience and knowledge within business would be invaluable and it’s always nice to have an expert opinion on where you are trying to go with your own business.


Q5


Q1 Q2


What was your first job? After leaving college at 18, I


worked at a homewares manufacturer before progressing into the carpet and flooring industry.


How did you get into the industry?


I began my career in flooring as a warehouse operative in 1987 at Carpet and Flooring Midlands, where I progressed to warehouse manager, then onto distribution manager before re-locating to London, where I became assistant branch manager and operations manager. I decided that I would utilise my hands-on experience and set up my own distribution company in 2006, when ADP Distribution was born. Over the years, ADP has evolved from offering not just a distribution service, but by providing retail and commercial POS installations, merchandising, project management, overnight and international parcel deliveries, sample production and fulfilment, offering our customers a one-stop shop.


Q3


What has been your proudest moment?


Always looking for the next opportunity and progression to make my family’s life easier, which was what inspired me to set up my own business.


44 | 10 QUESTIONS


What’s the best advice you could give to


someone new coming into


the industry? If you want to get ahead, work hard and be honest. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just own up to them. Honesty will prevail in the end. Take opportunities to learn about the industry and gain qualifications along the way to assist your career development.


Q6 Q7


What’s the first thing you’d buy if you won


the lottery? Properties for my two children and look after what their needs are.


If you could have a dinner party with any


three people, dead or alive, who


would you choose and why? Liam Gallagher because he is the coolest guy on the planet and I think he would be easygoing and have some interesting stories to tell from his career as a rock star.


David Attenborough; it would be interesting to see what he would have to say about his vast knowledge of the planet and his intelligence intrigues me. He comes across as a calm person and we all need those from time to time.


And finally, Cyrille Regis. I was lucky enough to have met Cyrille a few times. I’ve always admired his undeniable talent and his personality; he was a pioneer in the British football industry at a very difficult time. I have a lot of respect for him, I grew up with his influence in my life and he’s sadly missed from the footballing world.


Q8 Q9


Each issue, we ask a flooring industry professional 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Steve Birch, managing director, ADP Distribution.


What did you want to be when you were


growing up? I aspired to be a professional footballer when I was younger, inspired by the great teams at West Bromwich Albion in the 1970s and 1980s.


What do you think the future holds for flooring?


With the changes in the environment and legislation around this, people are becoming much more conscious of their buying habits and whether what they’re buying is sustainable or environmentally friendly. I think going forward, the flooring industry will need to be producing products, that are affordable to the many and 100% recyclable – particularly LVT as it is so popular in our industry at the moment. If its affordable and recyclable the public will buy it before a product that isn’t.


Q10


Jason Spangler, sales manager at Wagner


Meters, asked: If you could be any superhero, who would you


be and why? Superman, he was the first ever superhero I was introduced to as a youngster, he also has a normal job and his personality is very much like my own.


Check out next month’s issue to see what Steve asked our next industry professional…


www.adp-distribution.co.uk


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