14 | JUNE 2020
Director of the Month
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
THE LONG AND SHORT
(COMMUTE) OF IT
A firm believer in the 5S regime,
June’s Director of the Month –
Nick Cowley of Euramax – talks
the 5B regime; boosting business,
breaking modular buildings, beach
backgrounds, battle for the biscuits,
and branding like Beckham.
Name/job title:
Nick Cowley, managing
director of window and door
manufacturer, Euramax.
When did you join (or
start) the company?
I joined Euramax in January
2019.
Describe your
working day...
My commute to Euramax is
the shortest I’ve had to travel.
Previous commutes were
either eight hours by flight or
two-hour drives, so as you can
imagine, the beginning of my
day is much more relaxed than
what I have been used to in the
past.
I’m usually occupied in
meetings with my sales and
financial operations teams’
during the mornings, and the
afternoons are busy engaging
with customers. However, since
breaking into the world of modular
construction, each day is
different and always keeps me
on my toes.
What is your
workspace like?
My workspace is always
tidy because we follow the ‘5S
regime’ at Euramax. This approach
follows the principals of
lean manufacturing, helping to
organise our workplace safely
and efficiently. The 5Ss stand
for; sort, straighten, sweep,
standardise and systemise. The
team are all great at following
this way of working, although
we do have designated colleagues
that we’ve lovingly
nicknamed ‘the 5S police’ to
help keep everyone in check.
I’m still maintaining the 5S
mentality while working from
home, and my current working
space is also tidy and clutter
free, with only the necessities I
need for each day.
First thing you do when
you get to your desk?
When I arrive at the Euramax
office, I plug my computer in
and head straight for a coffee.
I then catch up on emails until
my usual meetings take place. I
carry out a similar routine while
working from home, although
there’s no queue for the coffee
machine or battle for the biscuits
here.
What websites
help you?
I mainly use a CRM system
called Hubspot, as well as
LinkedIn. Hubspot has been
ideal for managing our growing
customer base and prospects,
especially while working remotely.
LinkedIn is fundamental
to me. It’s perfect for keeping
me informed with what’s happening
in our target industries. I
use it regularly to read industry
specific articles, to see who’s
returning to the marketplace
and to connect with business
leads. I like to publish my own
articles and business news on
there, too.
Most useful
business tool?
The activity feed on Hubspot
is great to engage with customers,
as we can see who is
interested in business. Especially
at the moment, Microsoft
Teams has also allowed us to
proceed with company and
customer meetings like normal.
For me, it’s important that we
can still interact with our customers
face to face, even if it
is via a screen. Using the funky
backgrounds to pretend we’re
all on the beach certainly helps
keep things light-hearted during
internal calls.
Best business decision
in your current role?
Expanding and diversifying
markets from recreational and
holiday home, to target flourishing
industries such as modular
and offsite construction. I also
highly value the impact we have
made by repositioning Euramax
as an innovation adopter.
Whether it’s looking at material
choice for our window frames
or building relationships with
SMART technology businesses,
we’re continuously investing
in researching and developing
innovative solutions to boost
our offering.
Favourite role
models and why?
David Beckham. Although
I’m not a huge football fan,
I admire the way he repositioned
and built his name
and brand after his football
career.
How do you unwind?
Monday to Friday, I am in work
mode. From Friday afternoon
onwards, I like to relax with my
wife, with a glass of wine in
hand. I also thoroughly enjoy
going out for meals and taking
city breaks. Leeds is one of my
favourite places.