INTERVIEW: Brian Athey, Trads – Attitude + hard work = customer satisfaction

TheBusinessDesk.com spoke to Brian Athey, director at fast-rising Grantham radiator and bath company Trads.

Can you give me some background on your career so far, please?

I started working here over 15 years ago, initially as a warehouse operative, and through hard work and determination, I’ve succeeded in working my way up through the organisation, including roles as sales key account manager, all the way up to my current position.

I believe this has provided me with a vast amount of experience in all departments and gives me a good understanding of what is achievable.

To what do you attribute both your personal success and the success of the company?
It all starts with attitude. Then comes (a lot of) hard work and a dedication to customer satisfaction.

To me, it is all about a company or an individual who has an attitude of wanting to help, be that solving a problem or negotiating a sale – people see through greed or those in it for the money and quickly go elsewhere.
We have a solid team which are very knowledgeable and constantly growing.

What is your view on the current economy, and what do you think the next 12 months holds?
With our product range being targeted at mid to top end of the market, the recession of 2008-9 didn’t hurt our business as much as others. In that respect we are quite fortunate.

Now; renovations are on the up as people prefer to upgrade their existing property rather than moving. We are also seeing a continuing trend to move toward more bespoke products, to reflect individual taste and as such we are constantly developing new ideas and finishing technics, even the odd new material which is an enjoyable part of the role.

Have you ever considered relocating out of Lincolnshire to a more high-profile location?
No, I can’t say that we’ve seriously considered it, we are very happy to be situated in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands.

We have great road systems (the A17 and 20 minutes from the A1) on our doorstep, and so we benefit from having easily accessible transport links for deliveries, in terms of other infrastructure we have built several new units over the years and have a great relationship with our neighbours.

Where next for Trads?
Bathroom products – 2015 saw the introduction of baths to the Trads range and has proven to be a huge success. We are investing further in equipment to improve our production rates so we can continue to offer quick product turn around as the business continues to grow. We will of course be adding to the bath range and expand our range of bathroom accessories in the near future. So watch this space…

Out of office…

Age: 40 – just!

Family: I’m looking forward to celebrating 20 years of marriage this year to my wife, Briony. We have 3 wonderful children, Niamh 15, Ella 13 and Ollie 8 years.

Hobbies: DIY. I always have a project on the go, or thinking about the next one!

Favourite film: I love a good film, favourite is a tough one but would have to be Cool Runnings.

And book: Any from the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. Action, suspense and a loveable hero what else could you want?

Tell me something random about yourself: I hail from Hartlepool but support Manchester United

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day? I do like a good coffee, six cups a day.

What’s your favourite restaurant? The Fountain at Tuxford, great friendly atmosphere and fantastic food.