Clearview National March 2020 - Issue 220 | Page 28

DIRECTOROFTHEMONTH
Doing a solid
Icotherm’s Dave Jackson is March’s
Director of the Month, a familiar face
in fenestration, Dave discusses how
there’s no such thing as a typical day,
why he won’t web-browse at work, and
his love of football, F1, and food…
Name/job title:
Dave Jackson
Founder and Director
When did you join (or
start) the company?
Prior to Icotherm I had
spent over 20 years in a sales
environment, 16 of which were
in the windows and conservatory
industry. Some of the companies
I worked for include Quantal,
Synseal, and K2 Conservatories.
In 2014 I joined forces with
my wife, Jenny, who had been
running her own windows and
conservatory retail business.
From there it was not much
of a leap to set up our own
manufacturing unit. The solid
roof market was just starting
to carve itself a place in the
market, I had seen what the
existing systems could do and was
confident that we could design
and produce a solution that was
more efficient and practical for
installers.
Describe your working day...
I am not sure I have a typical
day. I take my turn in taking the
children to school, so those days
will dictate the time I arrive in
the office. Otherwise I aim to
be in the office for 9am (unless I
have meetings booked earlier) but
my working day will generally
begin at 7.30 am, which is when
my phone starts ringing. I try to
leave the office at around 5.30-
6pm and will still be catching up
on calls for an hour or so after
that.
Unlike the old days when I
was ‘out on the road’ I am now
HQ based. Our first few months
were tough, gone were the smart
clothes and sports car. For the
first few years of manufacture I
had to be very ‘hands on’, from
working in the factory though to
the office, sales, marketing, HR
you name it...
Once our first product (the
Icoroof ) was as good as we could
make it, I started focusing on
moving the business forward
through continuous research and
development. This has allowed
us to introduce new products
(Icospan, our flat roof, Icoview,
the hybrid roof, and finally
Ico600, low-pitch). I have been
able to use my market knowledge
and experiences to drive us
from being a small fabricator
to becoming a national systems
company.
What is your
workspace like?
I like to describe it as ‘organised
chaos’. As most of my time is
spent in meetings, the boardroom
is where I end up most days.
Paperwork (printed or digital)
is not what I do best, so I have
learned that I must delegate when
it comes to dealing with it.
First thing you do when
you get to your desk?
Get a coffee; no workday
should start without one, then
I will go and check up on
everybody in the building, from
shop floor to offices.
28 » M AR 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
‘Be nice to
people on
your way
up because
you’ll meet
them on your
way down’
What websites help you?
Honestly, when it comes to
web-browsing I tend to do it just
for leisure.
Most useful business tool?
Definitely my phone, I am
totally lost without it.
Best business decision
in your current role?
Starting this company… Seeing
the solid roof opportunity as one
with true potential, grabbing it
with both hands and developing
Icotherm. The marketplace was
(and I guess to a large extent still
is) dominated by aluminium, so
it was a gamble, and one I would
take again.
Favourite role
models and why?
My parents. They were brought
up during the war, and were
typically working class. They
taught me to be honest and
humble and to never take anything
for granted. My father worked
his way up to become a successful
sales director for an international
company. He advised me not to
let greed sway my judgement and
lived his life following some of his
favourite sayings: “You make your
own luck”, “the harder you work
the luckier you are” and “Be nice
to people on your way up because
you’ll meet them on your way
down”.
How do you unwind?
Spending time with my
family. My son and I share a
love of football and F1, and I go
swimming with my daughter.
When we can, Jenny and I love
nothing more than to find a nice
restaurant….we love good food
and wine.
www.icotherm.co.uk