Job Title: Managing Director
Company: Harrisons
What is your background and how did you come to be in your present role?
I’m fourth generation in a family manufacturing business that was founded in 1891 by my great grandfather. I was destined to join the business and it’s the route I took age 21 – even though I look back and think I would have perhaps liked a bit more adventure in between school and work!
What has been your greatest challenge so far in your career?
When I joined the business, it was run by my father and his cousin. My father managed everything inside the factory and his cousin ran the sales and everything outside. Four years after I joined, my father’s cousin died suddenly, and I went from learning the ropes to being a 25 year-old Sales Director overnight. That was a baptism of fire, but everyone around us were very kind and helped with the transition.
Another challenge, like many others, relates to COVID. The majority of our business deals with hospitality and with that sector essentially shutting down, we were not making a product that there was any demand for. However, we adapted and worked together with a sun cream company who had ethanol for us to make sanitising wipes. We were fortune to sign some contracts for these and keep all but two employees on a full-time basis, during the whole of the pandemic.
This period also forced us to re-evaluate parts of our operation that had gone unchallenged for years. As we’ve learned, substandard wiping may be costing your business time, money, and compliance — and that’s something we took seriously as we moved forward.
What’s been your greatest achievement so far in your career?
Any achievement I have is the achievement of the team around me. Right now, we have the strongest team we have ever had in the business in my time, across each discipline.
We recently acquired a company called Ecotech. This is the first acquisition we’ve ever made. It brings new challenges to all aspects of the business, from finance to production, logistics and sales. We are now three months in and we are proud of how things are going.
We are a 133-year-old business which continues to grow as times change, moving from a traditional rag business – trading ostrich feathers and rabbit skins – to now manufacturing modern non-woven dry and wet wipes.
In fact, one of the biggest leaps in this journey has been realising that engineered wipes offer consistent performance from the first pull to the last. We’ve moved away from reclaimed rags and seen the impact that high-spec wipes can have on both quality control and customer satisfaction.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Believe in yourself, have the confidence to trust your own instincts and worry less. In today’s world, many young people worry too much about things that may or may not happen.
Have the confidence to take risks, because if you are completely risk adverse, you probably won’t learn as fast as you might do. But make sure the risks are sensible. Don’t be frightened.
How do you think we can raise the profile of careers in STEM?
The challenge is when young people are at school or in the process of looking for a career, is that they often don’t see manufacturing as a place for them. The various roles and skills such as data or HR that are also needed in any manufacturing business are not emphasised; the sector isn’t t just nuts and bolts.
Outside of the main career paths like doctor, lawyer or accountant, people typically look at what their parents or parents friends do, but there’s so much more out there that we need to showcase.
What is your favourite engineered/manufactured product?
My favourite engineered product is something we recently launched – our new industrial wipes range. Although the individual components of these products have existed for a while, we’ve reconfigured and repacked them.
Instead of selling individual wipes in isolation, we’ve created an entire product range with tools like product selectors and support materials to go alongside them. It’s one of my favourite products we’ve ever made.
We’ve taken inspiration from businesses that realised how a seemingly minor operational detail can drive major efficiency gains — and we’ve aimed to offer that same level of impact with our new range.
Can you give one interesting fact about yourself that not many people know?
I’ve run two half marathons as a guide runner with a blind friend. You train together, learn each other’s pace and how to communicate, whether verbal or physical. It’s a major achievement for him, although I guided him, he did the running.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in manufacturing?
Try and find local businesses, contact them and ask them to visit. Before you start your career, visit a site and demystify what goes on inside because it can be such an interesting environment to work in.
You’d be surprised how something as overlooked as the type of wipe used can impact quality control, safety, and sustainability, even the most innovative businesses can be slowed down by substandard wiping processes.
