PEOPLE
10 MINUTES WITH: STEVE DUKE
Commercial Director, Knauf Insulation
What is your current role and how long have you been doing it?
I have been the commercial director at Knauf Insulation for the past four years. I have 50 people in my team and am responsible for all sales across the UK & Ireland.
How did you get started in this industry? I entered the construction industry straight from university about 21 years ago. After a spell with British Steel I moved into insulation, joining Knauf Insulation in 2006. Since then I’ve held a variety of different roles with the company, mainly in sales and management. I’ve also represented Knauf Insulation at the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA).
How did previous roles prepare you for this one?
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve held various roles at Knauf Insulation at all levels in the sales and management functions, and in many different places. This has given me a good understanding of the insulation market, our business, and critically the needs of merchants and end-users.
What would you like to achieve in your role?
I want to do everything possible to ensure Knauf Insulation is the partner of choice for our customers and that means supporting merchants to develop and grow their businesses. In this time of climate crisis, leaving the world in a better place than it is in now is essential. I believe insulation is integral to ensuring the sustainability of construction and that merchants will play a key role in raising awareness of how insulation helps reduce carbon emissions and the impact it has on everyone’s lives. With this in mind we offer merchants training to ensure they recommend the right product for the right application in line with building regulations.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
It has to be my current role because of the people I’m working with on a daily basis. I feel very honoured to lead this team.
What do you see as the main issues for builders’ merchants and the industry at the moment?
Fire safety and non-combustibility will continue to play a big role in the choice of insulation solutions for both merchants and their customers. However, other performance factors
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will increasingly come to the forefront such as sound insulation, thermal performance and indoor air quality.
We recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of ECOSE® Technology, our unique bio- based binder designed to improve the installer experience with mineral wool insulation. We developed ECOSE® Technology to be low VOC, with no added formaldehyde or phenols, so it generates very low levels of dust, is soft to touch and easy to handle. It is made from natural raw materials that are rapidly renewable and is 70% less energy-intensive to manufacture than traditional binders, so it is kinder to the environment too.
In 2020 we expect to see installer comfort and ease of use feature more prominently in product development across the industry. From a business point of view, the growth of digitalisation in the sector will offer huge opportunities for those who embrace it. But it’s important to remember the construction industry is still highly dependent on relationships – people buy from people – so to do it right, companies will have to digitalise without compromising the personal relationships they hold with customers.
What’s likely to keep you busy at the weekends?
I’m a father of three children, so I look forward to spending quality time with them & my wife, but truth be told, I’m generally ‘Dad’s taxi’.
If you’re at the bar – what are you drinking?
It depends who I’m with – generally, I like a decent beer, but I have been known to occasionally branch out into something a little more exotic, which some merchants will probably attest to!
What’s your favourite film, favourite book?
Film: The Godfather. A classic, with strong characters.
Book: I’m currently reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. I wouldn’t have said I’m one for spirituality but I’ve been really enjoying it.
If you could be a superhero, what superpower would you choose? Definitely time travel. You’ve caught me fresh out of a forecasting meeting where the ability to pop into the future and report back would be a big help.
ON THE MOVE
• The IPG has announced the appointment of its new head of supplier and C
commercial strategy, David Cairns. David joins the senior management team and will take
responsibility for synchronizing supply with demand and developing The IPG’s supply chain strategies to make them as effective and efficient as possible.
• IKO PLC has announced the appointment of Kerry Parker-Wray and Amanda Flynn to the board of directors of the UK business.
Kerry Parker-Wray, with a background in marketing and key account management, takes on the role of strategic development director while HR
specialist Amanda Flynn becomes business services director. Both appointments are internal promotions.
• Concrete specialists at a Shropshire firm have welcomed a new sales executive to their team who has over 25 years’ industry experience. Paul Redmond is the latest new face
to join the ever-growing team at Tudor Griffiths Group, in Ellesmere, and his appointment is as a direct result of an expansion programme for the concrete division.
• Scott Parnell – the civils and drainage supplies specialist – has appointed Martin Smith to the position of sales negotiator at its Witham branch. Martin has a
wealth of experience working in sales and management for the groundworks industry including clay and plastic drainage systems, underground surface-water and foul drainage, utilities ducting, hard landscaping and aggregates.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
January 2020
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