| On 6th
January 2020 experienced Technical Engineer Chris John
moved across to join the Technical Team at GfA. A
well-known name and face in the door industry we’ve
taken this opportunity to talk to Chris about the last
10 years with GfA and his wider experience in the door
industry.
Tell us about
your experience in the industrial door
industry
I
suppose I’m what you might call a poacher come
game-keeper as I started out my career with a door
manufacturer in my home town of Bolton. I joined their
electrical department straight from college and
was given the opportunity to work on all different
types of doors, gates, barriers, roller shutters,
sectional and folding doors.
In
1997 an opportunity arose to join Garog, the tube motor
manufacturer taken over by GfA in 2010. At Garog I was
employed to work on the electrical design for systems
and special motors. During the 13 years I spent there I
had a wide remit, everything from technical back-up,
working on the development of new products, site visits
and training for customers.
What
does your role at GfA involve?
I
joined the Sales Team at GfA in 2010 as the technical
champion for Garog products, providing technical support
on the Garog range as well as selling suitable
replacement products. As I became familiar with GfA
products my role expanded to provide sales and technical
support to customers across the full range. I’ve also
been responsible for writing and delivering Product
Training Sessions for customers over the last couple of
years.
My
new role as part of the GfA UK Technical Team will see
me continuing to provide the same level of technical
support and advice to customers and put even more focus
on developing our Training
Programme
to meet the needs of customers.
I’m
qualified in electrical installation, design of
electrical installations and CAD. This experience means
there aren’t many door challenges or problems I haven’t
come across.
What’s
changed over the last 30 years in the door
industry?
The
biggest change is the introduction of a wide range of
regulations which affect the industry. This makes it
more challenging for door companies and their engineers
to be compliant, hence the training
that we offer.
Chris,
who splits his time between Warwick and Bolton joins the
existing Technical Team shown below. | 
