Geoff Potter, Managing Director, Gray & Adams

FACE TO FACE GEOFF POTTER MANAGING DIRECTOR GRAY & ADAMS

Gray & Adams Managing Director Geoff Potter, who is settling into his new role at the specialist trailer manufacturer, is looking forward to a bright future for the company despite the challenges ahead. He has told Export & Freight’s David Stokes, in an exclusive interview, that the company has ‘exciting developments’ in the pipeline.

Just several months into the job, Geoff has succeeded Billy Dougan at the helm. “Billy has been a great ambassador for Gray & Adams and I’m very appreciative of the foundation he has built during his 25-year tenure. I’m really looking forward to continuing to work with our established customers as well as developing new opportunities.” By all accounts, Geoff has plenty to bring to the role, with a wealth of experience in the automotive & transport industry over many years. After completing NFC’s graduate management training programme, he held roles in Branch Management and National Accounts Management, but as he tells us, “as my next role with NFC would have meant relocating to Great Britain, I decided to pursue other local opportunities and spent a number of years with DAF Trucks (or Leyland DAF as it was then) followed by over 16 years in the bus industry.” He is referring to his time at Ballymenabased Wrightbus where he was initially responsible for Customcare, their worldwide aftermarket division, before taking responsibility for their Double Deck division. “I’m fortunate to have be involved in some great projects and believe the experience gained in operations, engineering, product development and customer service will be of benefit in my role at Gray & Adams.” He adds: “There’s no doubt that it’s a challenging role, however I have the benefit of being part of a highly experienced, customer centric, innovative, hardworking team.”

So, will he be making any major operational changes? “Markets are constantly changing, and businesses have to continuously adjust, so yes there will be change. However, it will be refinements and improvements as opposed to major restructuring.”

Challenges

Of course, manufacturing has had its challenges in recent years, so how does he think Gray & Adams will cope in the present climate? What challenges does he see the industry facing at the moment?

“Overall, I see a very bright future for Gray & Adams. However, like many businesses, Brexit and the environment will be two major challenges. From a Brexit perspective, things are currently in a holding pattern while the situation develops, but the industry will do whatever it takes to be successful – regardless of the outcome. “The environment, meanwhile, is playing an increasingly prominent role and there’s no doubt that deforestation, plastic pollution, global warming and air quality all need to

be addressed. However, I’m concerned that the global warming debate in particular has become politically weaponised, with reality and facts now taking a back seat and emotion playing the leading role.” Care to elaborate? “I believe we need an environmental strategy which encourages the use of optimised solutions from a range of clean propulsion technologies, rather than a single technology solution. There’s no such a thing as a ‘one size fits all’ solution and I’m sure that clean combustion engines, fuel cell and battery electric will all play important future roles in transport mobility. The future will be eclectic not just electric.“ Adds Geoff: “Our industry must play a pivotal role in assisting policy makers to develop balanced, realistically deliverable environmental policies which are based on complete lifecycle emissions, as opposed to the current trend of solely focusing on exhaust emissions.”

Customer Care

Gray & Adams has an extensive base of highprofile clients, so where does customer service rank on his list priorities? “At Gray & Adams we understand the importance of customer service and we’ll continue to make product and service developments that reinforce our position as the industry leader.” He adds: “A major element of the Gray & Adams business culture is the understanding that one size definitely doesn’t fit all. G&A is synonymous with high quality tailored products which successfully integrate elements of the customers’ DNA and we will undoubtedly continue to listen to our customers and work closely with them to meet their specific requirements.” Gray and Adams has always been regarded as an extremely innovative company, so what new developments, if any, can we expect in the year ahead? Replies Geoff, with a smile: “Yes, there will be exciting developments, but you’ll have to watch this space.”