James Beacon
Meet James Beacon
Technical Consultant – Braided Hose Division
Leaving school, I was always set on going to university. I chose the Business Management degree read at the University of Lincoln; to get far enough away to not get a visit from my parents every weekend.
Immediately after leaving University, I joined a company in the automotive industry that specialised in manufacturing and repair. I joined as a customer service team leader, where I learnt the ins and outs of the business. My eagerness to learn and can-do attitude led to me being offered the chance to fly out to the company’s American office based in Boston, MA, for two weeks to evaluate them and identify any areas of the business where there might be opportunities for growth. When I returned with my findings I was asked if I would like to take on a project as their Operations Manager. I jumped at the prospect of living and working in another country, although I may have taken my mantra for university a little too far. I set to work implementing improvements I had identified on my original two-week trip. This included improving the management of stock, using my product knowledge I gained in my previous role to evaluate whether stock could be used to improve the flow of revenue into the business or if it was obsolete, and rebuilding the customer service team, as it was severely understaffed for their requirements. Once I met my targets in America, I returned to the UK and was promoted to General Manager of their flagship office based in Rochester, Kent, where I managed a workforce of 50. I set about stabilising the business’ declining sales and managed to increase these by 20% by the time I finished.
It was at this point; I was approached by Hydraquip’s Braided Hose Division who were seeking someone with experience in stock management and international procurement. After several discussions with Duncan MacBain, founder of the Hydraquip Group, I decided I liked the sound of a new challenge and the prospects that came with the role. I was offered the role of Technical Consultant and I accepted, knowing that my skillset would align with Braided Hose’s growth, while being equally challenging.
Since starting at Hydraquip I spent my initial time learning the products that the company has to offer and getting to grips with how the company operates. With Hydraquip’s operations improving as they recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, I was quickly thrown into different aspects and areas of the business, where my experience from my previous job served me well.
I currently work with our largest customers in the DataCool, Chilled Ceiling and OEM market, which has seen continued growth in 2021 and in the coming year I am working towards introducing new customers in the building services, heating and ventilating range, which Hydraquip has been one of the market leaders of since the mid 1990’s. Alongside managing my customer accounts, I currently oversee the purchasing and stock management for the business, which has seen great improvements in accuracy since taking on this project 6 months into my time with Hydraquip.
Outside of work, I am a keen sportsman and regularly play cricket, golf, and hockey. Whilst growing up, I played hockey for Kent, and continued that through to University. In addition to this, I captain the second team of my local cricket club and coach their U16’s.
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