We sat down for a chat with Adam Jones, our Technical Service Consultant – West.
We found out what life is like within the technical team, what unusual pets Adam keeps at home and what his proudest moment has been during his time at Bostik.
What was your first job?
“I worked as an assistant in an exotic pet shop on weekends in my school days, but my first full-time position was here at Bostik, starting as an apprentice Laboratory Technician.”
How did you get into the flooring industry?
“After completing my apprenticeship at Bostik, I opted to permanently join the laboratory team responsible for the development and maintenance of flooring products. I found the team to be very knowledgeable and the products interesting to work with.”
What’s the best thing about working at Bostik?
“I’m always learning and improving, either from other colleagues, being hands-on with our products, or from being involved on sites day-to-day, seeing the types of challenges our customers face.”
What do you think are the positive and negative aspects of the flooring industry?
“For me, a positive of the industry is that every week we experience something different and there are always new challenges to overcome. A negative would be the lack of understanding and the resistance some main contractors can have to what needs to be done on-site. As a result, part of my role involves spending time with site management teams, explaining the importance of what is required for a successful, long-term flooring installation.”
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your time in the industry?
The most valuable lesson I have learned is never to feel like a question is too stupid to ask!
What do you think the future holds for the flooring industry?
For Bostik specifically, very exciting things! We’ve had the recent launch of our new flooring adhesive range and there are other things coming in the pipeline to look forward to as well.
How would you describe your role at Bostik?
“My role at Bostik varies quite a lot. From carrying out site visits for our customers and conducting moisture surveys and subfloor inspections, to in-house testing on the compatibility of our products with new developments in the marketplace (floor coverings, subfloor systems, etc.). We also support our sales team with trade shows, product demonstrations and customer training. There’s never a dull moment for us in the technical team!”
What do most of your colleagues not know about you?
“Most are probably not aware that I keep several pythons and tarantulas as pets.”
What has been your proudest moment?
“In my personal life, it would be the birth of my son Reuben, who has not long had his first birthday. Within Bostik, I would say being part of the development team behind Screedmaster Speed 30. This was a product that needed to be ready to receive floor coverings in as little as an hour, yet also needed to have good, user-friendly handling and application characteristics. It was a challenge to get all aspects of it right and I am very proud of the end result.”
Finally, if you could be any character from film or TV, who would you be and why?
“Gromit from Wallace and Gromit because every time Wallace gets himself into trouble with his crazy contraptions, Gromit is working silently in the background making sure nothing goes wrong – a bit like us in the technical team!”
