24 | MARCH 2020
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
CAB TO SUPPORT GLAZING SUMMIT FOR THIRD YEAR RUNNING
The Council for Aluminium
in Building (CAB) will partner
with the Glazing Summit for the
third year running, on Thursday,
October 8 at Edgbaston Stadium,
Birmingham and CAB has been
supporting the event from the
beginning.
Justin Ratcliffe, CAB’s Chief
Executive, said: “It’s really impor-
tant that we sit down as a sector
looking forward
‘ to we’re
this year’s event ’
and discuss where the industry is
heading, and the Glazing Summit
provides the perfect platform to
do that. Last year the Glazing
Summit provided one of the most
realistic yet dynamic takes on
the UK fenestration industry and
we’re looking forward to this
year’s event. For CAB, it’s very
important that we’re there to lis-
ten to what’s going on and we’re
delighted to join as an event part-
ner and exhibitor once again.”
For more information on
sponsorship opportunities
or tickets for the day, visit
www.glazingsummit.co.uk,
call 01934 808293 or email
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF THE MONTH
ROCK SOLID
Icotherm’s Dave Jackson, a familiar face in fenestration,
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: Describe your
working day
Dave Jackson
Founder and Director 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 7.30am,
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 prod-
uct (the Icoroof) was as
good as we could make
it, I started focusing on
moving the business for-
When did you
join/start the
company?
Prior to Icotherm I had
spent over 20 years in a
sales environment, 16 of
which were in the win-
dows 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 busi-
ness.
From there it was not
much of a leap to set
up our own manufactur-
ing 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 confi-
dent that we could design
and produce a solution
that was more efficient
and practical for install-
ers.
ward through continuous
research and develop-
ment. 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 compa-
ny.
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 work-
day should start without
one, then I will go and
check up on everybody in
the building, from shop
floor to offices.
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.
Be nice to
‘ people
on
your way
up because
you’ll meet
them on your
way down
’
Best business
decision in your
current role?
Starting this company…
Seeing the solid roof op-
portunity as one with true
potential, grabbing it with
both hands and develop-
ing Icotherm. The market-
place was (and I guess to
a large extent still is) dom-
inated 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 typical-
ly working class. They
taught me to be honest
and humble and to never
take anything for grant-
ed. My father worked
his way up to become a
successful sales direc-
tor 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