Job Title: Managing Director
Company: Graham Hart Process Technology
Tell us a bit about yourself. This can include telling us what fires you up about the job you do, your professional achievements, your career highlights. What inspires you? What attracted you to pursue a career in manufacturing? Is there anything else you’d like to say about either your job or UK manufacturing?
My fascination with science began in school, where I had an amazing physics teacher who turned every lesson into a practical experience. With both my father and grandfather working in engineering and manufacturing, my love for the sector developed from an early age.
Taking over the company from my father, 13 years ago, was a challenge, but one I’ve embraced. I’m proud to have led us through our 51st anniversary while achieving our highest ever turnover. My team continues to inspire me, and I take great pride in our long-standing commitment to excellence – maintaining a 100% on-time and in-full delivery record for over nine years. For me, every day is an exciting opportunity to learn something new, implement a new idea and dream about the future.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t try and solve all problems today. It’s better to solve one problem well and fully integrate it into the business, than it is to try and solve ten problems badly.
What is your favourite engineered/manufactured product?
I think it would have to be the internet and everything that allows it to exist, such as transatlantic fibre optics, satellites, computers, phones, browsers, etc. The ability to deliver knowledge to anybody, almost anywhere, is phenomenal.
Please give one interesting fact about yourself that not many people know.
I was a slow developer and probably at the bottom of my class in primary school. Through the sheer luck of moving schools and being put in a lower class, due to the class above being oversubscribed, I was effectively held back a year. This gave me the bre
If you weren’t in manufacturing what would be your dream job?
I think it would still be in science/engineering but possibly computing. I was lucky enough to be aged eight when the home computer came about and to have a father that could see how they would change the world. He taught me to program on a BBC model B, which gave me the foundations. My philosophy with computers is that if you can think of it, you can find a way to do it. It’s all about having imagination.
