After 36 years working at Reading-based Manrose, Clive Britton has retired as Sales Director heralding the end of an era for the British fan manufacturer. Affectionately known in the electrical industry as Mr Manrose, Clive Britton is probably the longest serving sales director in the sector. Joining Manrose in 1987 Clive has been sales director through nine Prime Ministers and has seen a sector transformation.
Clive started his sales career in 1976, aged 20 when he joined Lyons Tetley where he worked his way up to Area Manager. In 1987 Clive’s good friend Robert Belcher, whose family was already in the fan business, decided to set up a new company. On 24 December 1987, the company was registered with Clive as company secretary and Manrose was born, with its first production line in Clive’s parents’ garage, staffed by friends, while Clive’s mother fed them all lunch. At the beginning, Manrose started small with only 15 product lines and a couple of variations including a 4-inch standard, pull cord and timer fan, two shower fans and three window fans. In comparison 35 years later Manrose now has over 3,200 products.
Originally in the background, in 1989 Clive joined Manrose as Sales Manager with a brief to double the company sales from £500,000 to £1m in a year. Clive didn’t only double the turnover he grew the business to £1.3m in just 12 months and Clive was made Sales Director in 1990. By 1996 Manrose was recognised by every electrical buying group in the electrical trade and striking the order pad with £1m turning into £2.5m and then to £6m as the company continued to grow.
In 2007 Manrose’ turnover reached £20m and Volution Holdings, recognizing the British manufacturer’s success, bought the company. Since then, there has been significant R&D to meet customer demand, regulation and the drive to reduce carbon, resulting in a raft of new products, including the energy efficient Lo-Watt range. More recently Clive witnessed a manufacturing transformation at Manrose’ Reading site with the company moving from using virgin to recycled plastic, helping make ventilation sustainable. To reduce carbon Manrose has invested in R&D and manufacturing technology to develop ventilation products from recycled sources with 90% of the plastic used in its facilities to be from recycled sources by the end of FY2025, without compromising on quality or reliability.
Clive Britton said: “Now is the right time for me to go; everything is going really well. We are leaders in transforming our manufacturing from using virgin to recycled plastic. We are in a strong position as a brand leader. I’m very pleased Stuart Eglin is taking over from me as Sales Director. I feel the company is in safe hands, because Manrose is very special. I have seen the company grow from the start, it important to me”.
Clive is very happy with his successor Stuart Eglin who is Manrose’ new Sales Director. Stuart came from Crompton Lighting in the electrical sector so already knew the industry. During last year Clive has been working on special projects while Stuart has taken the helm thus ensuring a seamless transition.
“It has been a pleasure getting to know Clive over the past year and picking up considerable knowledge. I feel honoured to have been entrusted to take on the mantle from Clive after such a long and successful career. I will do everything I can to ensure that the Manrose brand continues to be at the forefront of our customers’ minds when they choose their ventilation partner”, Stuart said.
Manrose has stayed very much at the forefront of customers’ minds over the years as Clive has watched the company changing. Over Clive’s career he has experienced a transformation in the electrical industry including a move from pen and paper orders to computerisation. The pandemic then brought ventilation and its health benefits into sharp focus. This focus has continued as new attention has been brought to the health risks of condensation and mould in the home. As a result, Manrose recently launched its Lo-Watt Pivotal Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) making it easy for electricians and homeowners to combat condensation and mould in the home. Clive believes PIV is set to be a huge growth area for the electrical sector as homeowners become more aware of the dangers of mould.
Other changes Clive has witnessed include customers moving from using a basic 4-inch fan to consumers asking for attractive more stylish fans to fit in with their home décor. Clive has also seen how fans have been developed, when it comes to noise, with households increasingly asking for quieter fans, which led to Manrose developing low noise fans, like its latest Quiet Fan X5 which has proved very popular with its ultra-low sound levels, easy install, robust reliability and great performance and aesthetics.
Clive has enjoyed working in the electrical industry and describes it as very much a people industry. He is looking forward to retirement with his wife Claire and has some trips planned, including visiting Australia this year to visit friends and family. Clive is also keen to keep active and has some hobbies lined up including cycling and golf.
For further information on all products and services offered by Manrose, telephone 01753 691399 or visit www.manrose.co.uk.