Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
SEPTEMBER 2020 | 11
News
DIRECTOR OF THE MONTH
‘WORKING 5 TO 5’
Ian Short, Morley Glass &
Glazing MD discusses why he’s
always first to work, looking
at the bigger picture, glass
crushing, and even Walt Disney…
When did start
the company?
I started Morley Glass
& Glazing in 1998 as a
sealed unit manufacturer,
with a team of four. I saw
a gap in the industry for a
high-quality niche product
and started to manufacture
sealed units with Screen-
Line integral blinds inside
from 2003. It really helped
differentiate us and ensured
we thrived; today we
have an expanded product
range and we employ over
78 members of staff.
Describe your
working day
One thing that has stood
me in good stead is always
being prepared to be the
first to arrive. That can
mean getting to the office
at 5am but it’s worth it to
have some relatively quiet
time, and also means I get
more time to spend out on
the shop floor during the
day. I like to leave the office
by 5pm as I’m involved
with lots of charities and
often have to go to trustees’
meetings or simply go and
lend a hand.
What is your
workspace like?
I am a very clean and
tidy person, so I insist
that my workspace and
indeed the whole factory
are spotless and ordered.
We moved to this factory
in 2016 to increase our
production capacity. We
planned the space carefully
so that it has a natural
flow and is hugely efficient
for the team so that they
can easily manufacture up
to 4000 sealed units with
integral blinds inside every
week.
What websites
help you?
Our own website www.
morleyglass.co.uk is the
biggest help to our business.
We don’t employ any
salespeople, but we have a
fantastic PR and marketing
agency which runs an integrated
marketing campaign
that directs traffic to our
website and generates all
our sales leads. The Morley
Glass social media channels
are also hugely valuable
in terms of engagement,
direct sales and for sending
people to our website for
more information, quotes
and to place orders.
Most useful
business tool?
We recently invested in
FleetWizard software which
optimises dispatch and delivery.
The automated route
planning software gives
us a clear visual of our
weekly orders nationwide
and enables us to carry
out easy load planning for
our 26 vans that takes into
consideration both location
and load capacities, helping
to save both time and
fuel. We simply load data
into the software’s easy-touse
dashboard which then
automates multi-depot,
multi-route, multi-drop
scheduling. Optimal trips
are created, and resources
assigned in a fraction of
the time needed for a manual
planning process.
Best business
decision in your
current role?
Appointing a general
manager to manage the
day-to-day operations has
given me the time to be
a true managing director.
I’m very lucky to have
Kevin Murphy who takes a
lot of the day-to-day stress
off my shoulders, and
allows me more time with
our suppliers, including
regular trips to Italy to discuss
new product developments.
My focus is now on
strategic growth; looking at
the bigger picture without
getting too involved in the
nitty gritty. I enjoy inputting
into the marketing
campaign and I love being
in a position to give back
to the local community and
charities.
We also recently installed
a glass crushing machine
into the factory which
allows us to take the glass
from old windows and
doors, crush it and recycle
it via Saint-Gobain Glass.
This saves our customers
time and money, as we
don’t charge them to recycle
it, and it prevents the
glass from going to landfill.
All the money that we receive
from Saint-Gobain for
the glass is then donated to
local charities or community
projects for environmentally
friendly initiatives.
Favourite role
models and why?
I respect and admire Walt
Disney, businessman Bob
Iger and chef Raymond
Blanc for their attention to
detail and their recognition
that one business isn’t
about just one thing: it’s
the many layers of quality
and service that keep you
focused and successful.
How do you
unwind?
I learned to dance the
samba and a few other
dances a couple of years
ago and I still love to dance
when I can. It’s a great
way to relax and forget the
stresses of the day. I enjoy
holidays with my family
and I also love steam
trains.
www.morleyglass.co.uk
Reassuringly
compliant, so let
them know about it
Icotherm has opted
to partner with a new
Approved Inspector’s
firm, announces
Anne-Marie Busch,
Marketing Manager.
This is not a decision
that was made lightly
she emphasises, but
taken with customers
in mind.
“We need to work
with an organisation
that is prepared to
go the extra step to
ensure our roofs are
appropriately checked
when installed, and Ball
& Berry Ltd can provide
just that,” explains
Anne-Marie.
The aim of certifying
a roof system for building
control compliancy
is a twofold solution:
1. The systems house
wants to ensure their
roof is up to the task,
whilst providing you,
the installer, with a
solution that will make
your work easier when
getting your installation
building control
approved.
2. The other important
role of the compliancy
certification
and having a roof
registered is to give
the homeowner the
reassurance that their
roof is a genuine product.
Ball & Berry Ltd
will do this for us; as
part of the application
process they will check
the original Icotherm
paperwork and register
the roof reference,
allowing us to double
check it is indeed a
roof we have manufactured.
“This protects our
customers against
competitors claiming
to use a high specification
roof like Icotherm’s
when in fact
they are not. It also
protects Icotherm’s
product and brand by
ensuring only genuine
products are sold under
our name.”
For further information
and to obtain the
Ball & Berry Ltd
certificates and/
or application form,
please contact Anne-
Marie at marketing@
icotherm.co.uk
www.ballandberry.co.uk