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PEOPLE 10 MINUTES WITH: Category director at SR Timber


What is your current role and how long have you been doing it? Category Director at SR Timber since June 2021


What does your role entail? It is a very varied role which is what makes it exciting. Building relationships with suppliers is the building block of everything and that is a key part of my job day-to-day. Negotiating price and trading agreements, introducing products, marketing and promotions, product training, customer trade days and exhibitions are all part of the role.


How did you get started in this industry? I started in 1995 as a sales and management trainee at Wolseley PLC. I left the University of Bath with an Economics and Politics degree but not a clue what I wanted to do. A good friend worked for Wolseley and recommended its graduate training programme.


What roles were you doing before and how did they prepare you for this one? After completing my training, I moved into product management and focused on timber and panel products. Over the years my career took me into procurement, category, marketing and sales roles. I have been lucky to work with some big players: Wolseley, International Timber James Latham, Sodra and now SR Timber.


What would you like to achieve in your role? When I joined; the business had not had


someone focused on all timber products under one category before so in many ways it was identifying what our timber business looked like and how to improve on what we were already doing first. One thing I have noticed since joining is the strong relationships the branches and sales teams have with their customers.


What has been the highlight of your career? In 2011 Builder Center won the Excellence in Marketing category at the TTJ Awards. It was the culmination of 16 years of hard work and was quite poignant as we were just in the process of being acquired by Jewson. It was a proud moment to be able to accept the award on behalf of my colleagues who had played such an important part in the start of my career.


What do you see as the main issues for builders merchants and construction? I think the industry could certainly do with some stability in demand, supply and of course – price. At the start of COVID we had to cancel shipments of timber one minute only to then desperately try and increase orders a few weeks later. Unfortunately, in the UK it is difficult for customers to understand sometimes why prices or availability becomes an issue. Timber has so many global factors influencing it. A real refocus on training and investment in younger people coming into the industry is urgently needed. The fact I still think of myself as one of the ‘young ones’ when I am 50 years old this year is not good.


What piece of advice would you give yourself at the start of your career? Be willing to give things a try, be prepared to act on your convictions, make mistakes and learn from them.


What keeps you busy at the weekends? With two daughters (aged seven and nine) weekends usually involve taxi service to dance classes and birthday parties mixed with shopping and housework. If I can sneak in a trip to the pub to watch Scotland in the Six Nations all the better. I used to be a member of the Tartan Army and followed the Scotland football team around the world, even as far afield as Japan to watch them lose.


If you’re at the bar – what are you drinking? At the start of an evening a nice pint of Moretti. At the end of the evening a nice Macallan 10 year old single malt!


What’s your favourite book? And your favourite film?


My favourite book is anything by John Le Carre. The Honourable Schoolboy is probably my favourite to date and my favourite film(s) has to be the Star Wars series which I grew up with and now keeps me paying my Disney Channel subscription!


If you could be a superhero, which super- power would you choose? Being able to fly BMJ


ON THE MOVE


Specialist timber merchant Arnold Laver has appointed Lee Pollitt as manager for the Northallerton branch and Claire Leckenby


to the branch sales team. The Northallerton branch is one of 15 Arnold Laver sites across England. and was the former head office site of NYTimber.


ARC Building Solutions, the manufacturer of specialist cavity fire barriers and cavity closers, has announced Chris Sexton will take on the role of national sales manager. The newly


created role will focus on strengthening its national proposition in merchants.


16


IBMG has appointed Danny Spokes as its divisional managing director for IBMG’s South West build division; its appointment heralds the restructure of IBMG’s South West


operation to align with the wider structure of the Group. Spokes was previously managing director of IBMG’s roofing division.


Keylite Roof Windows has appointed Shane Kerlin as managing director for UK and Ireland He had been director of finance at Keylite since December 2019. He will focus on sales and distribution performance of domestic market areas, alongside newly appointed Sales Director for the region, James Malkin.


Martin Mongan, CEO of Bristan Group, is to retire at the end of the year, to be replaced by Jen Cassidy, currently chief operating officer. Cassidy joined Bristan in August 2021


following a career that includes senior roles with Wolseley, Kohler Mira and more latterly, Linn Products.


ERA has appointed Andy Furness as manufacturing manager. Furness, who brings with him over 15 years’ experience in the manufacturing and construction industry, will


be overseeing the manufacturing process on a range of ERA’s mechanical products, including custom projects.


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net July 2024 ANDY SAWERS


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