The managing director of ventilation firm Nuaire has said he wants to focus the company on growth and innovation.
Wayne Glover took over as MD in January this year and has already shaken-up the company’s management structure and overseen a 30% boost in productivity on the manufacturing of the ventilation firm’s flagship product.
Mr Glover joined Nuaire in 1993 as a Product Development Engineer and over the last 24 years has moved through management and director roles in engineering, sales and commerce, to the post of Managing Director in January 2018.
This in-depth experience across different aspects of the company has provided him with a rounded picture of Nuaire and a clear idea of where he wants to position the company and how to get there.
He said: “Nuaire is known as an industry leader when it comes to product. We were the first company in the industry to achieve BSI Quality Management ISO 9001:2015 accreditation for example. I want to really focus the company on innovation and quality to drive growth.”
To move towards this, Mr Glover revised the management and director level structure at Nuaire.
“This has provided a reinvigorated team who are directly engaging with customers to really understand what their needs are and provide innovative solutions”, he explained.
“I have also been working on getting the different divisions at Nuaire more engaged with each other, bringing sales and commercial closer together, which is already reaping rewards.”
Nuaire has recently invested heavily in a revised production line for its flagship XBC range of high efficiency commercial heat recovery ventilation units. A new flow-line manufacturing process has been introduced which has seen a 30% improvement in productivity.
Mr Glover entered the ventilation industry as an apprentice at the age of 16 after securing an apprenticeship with Engart Fans in Hirwaun, near Aberdare.
He said: “Originally, I was thinking of doing something in electronics, but it was the early 1980s and jobs were in short supply in Wales. I must have done 50 interviews around the UK before I secured an apprenticeship at Engart Fans in Hirwaun. I learnt a lot from my time there and travelled around the world.
“I doubt many 16-year olds start out with a plan to work in a particular sector, but I was lucky to get a job in the ventilation industry.
“It’s been challenging and, despite being quite specialised, I’ve enjoyed many different roles. It led me to Nuaire which is unique because of its family friendly atmosphere, even though it’s part of a large plc.
“The company has grown from 80 to 500 people in my time. Areal strength of the company is that we all talk, engage and work together. It’s the kind of place where people support and help each other out. That’s hard to find.”
Established in 1966, Nuaire provides a full range of energy-efficient domestic, commercial and renewable ventilation solutions. Based at Caerphilly’s Western Industrial Estate and Bedwas’ Pantglas Industrial Estate, the firm has more than 500-employees worldwide.
It was sold in 2015 for £145 million to the Doncaster-based Polypipe group.