In a bid that they hope is relatable to many running businesses in the fenestration sector, Jade directors Sean Mackey and Adam Jones recount their painful journey from owner-managed business to professional entity set for significant growth. And it wasn’t always pretty!

Fenestration is an industry of entrepreneurs. It operates within a supply chain that allows for innovation, opportunity, growth.

At the same time, it sees as many failures as it does success. That passion to do well requires hard work. Commitment. An understanding of the market fluctuations. Good cash flow. Skilled people.

Fenestration tooling – a world of opportunities

Speak to anyone who has worked in fenestration over the last two to three decades, and they will all say the same thing – this industry has given them opportunities that they may not have found elsewhere.

And so many have come from the same place as Sean Mackey and Adam Jones, directors of tooling company Jade. The two met when working at J Tools back in the noughties, and developed a friendship forged over sporting talk and Saturday mornings putting the hours into their respective roles. For Adam it was the love of engineering. For Sean, it was the numbers and making them work.

So, when they were given the opportunity to buy out J Tools, and then several years later to do the same with their main competition Jade Engineering, that entrepreneurial spirit took hold.

“The Jade brand was already strong within the industry, which gave us a head start in terms of establishing a brand value which everyone already knew and trusted,” said Sean Mackey. During those first 15 years we probably went through every peak and trough that you can possibly experience within an economic cycle, and our focus was to constantly reinvest and reinvest in the business to give us the deepest foundations possible.

But as we all know, time stops for no man, and both partners were approaching a time in their life when they needed to reassess their personal goals in relation to making some long-term business decisions.

Turning 50 – a pivotal moment for Jade directors

“It was my 50^th birthday that proved to be a turning point,” continued Sean Mackey. “I didn’t want to be continuing to work at the pace that I was. Although fit and healthy, we needed to ask some difficult questions – what would happen to the business if neither Adam nor I were around?”

“It made us recognise the vulnerable position into which we had put both ourselves, and our customers,” added Adam Jones. “We had long been aware of the privileged position we occupied in the industry, with strong relations throughout the supply chain. But that privileged position could also be a risk if anything were to happen to either myself or Sean – we came to the realisation that we were a victim of our own success, and the biggest losers would be our client base.”

While the pair were still along way from selling up and moving away, they came to the realisation that they needed to get outside help from an independent source that understood how to create that longevity in a business – who would remove the direct involvement of Sean and Adam yet still maintain the essence that makes Jade what it is.

“We needed a plan,” said Sean. “For the last decade or more we had been working full pelt as owner managers. This was not good for the long-term health of ourselves, or the business. But where on earth do you start?”

Fortunately for Adam and Sean, through local business contacts they became acquainted with Mark Jennings, a business coach associated with the ActionCOACH organisation which nurtures owner managed businesses like Jade towards growth and exit.

Implementing systems and processes

“Jade demonstrated the challenges that so many owner managed businesses face – they were brilliant engineers and very entrepreneurial within their sector,” said Mark Jennings. “What they lacked were the systems and processes required to professionalise their business and give it the structure it needed to grow, but more importantly, to grow without Sean and Adam. Their goals were woolly. The general perspective was that they were keeping their heads down, doing their best, and making the most of the opportunities presented to them. It was a good business, but without intervention it would soon run into problems.”

Over the next few months, Mark worked closely with Adam and Sean, identifying areas of the business that most needed attention, and putting in place a plan which would create a framework for growth.

“It became clear that Sean and Adam were never going to be people managers,” continued Mark Jennings. “Despite the loyalty to the employees in their care, the company needed restructuring from the ground up when it came to putting in place the systems and processes required for a more productive way of managing the workforce. The need for an experienced managing director was identified.”

Enter Gareth Davies, a granular thinker who had previously managed the civil service pension. Gareth was taken on with the wide-ranging brief not just of systemising Jade, but also moving it into new 30,000 square foot premises the company had recently purchased 50 metres around the corner.

Gareth would openly admit that ‘managing’ Sean and Adam has been one of the most challenging aspects of his job.

“From their point of view, they were having to hand over the everyday minutiae of running Jade – tasks that were preventing them from concentrating on growing the business. But it was just such tasks that were preventing them from restructuring the company in a way that could run more efficiently without them,” said Gareth Davies. “Over the last couple of years, we have gone through some tough love, irate words, stony silences and heated discussions, but through the pain a new Jade has emerged which maintains that essential Jade DNA, but does ultimately have the markers in place to operate efficiently and in a wholly customer centric way, whether Sean and Adam or in the office or not.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the focus on our three-year plan is on target, the industry is sitting up and taking more notice, and Sean and Adam are better equipped to sit back and let the systems we now have in place take the strain.”

Sean added: “We thought building the business originally was tough – letting go has been even tougher. But we know we are over the biggest hurdles, and any bumps in the road now will be navigated as part of the process of growth.

There are so many businesses in this industry who are probably experiencing what we have been going through these last few years, and we hope that by exposing our own jagged journey we can give insight and clarity to what needs to be done to move forward. None of it is easy. But all of it is utterly rewarding!”