With the start of the new year and Cotterill Civils entering its 26th year, we thought now was a great time to reflect on our success so far. Here are some questions we asked our Managing Director, Andy Cotterill.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
To be more disciplined around my health and fitness regime — more running, more cycling, better eating.
What are your hobbies?
My main hobby in life is biking — the motorised type rather than the pedal type! I have a large adventure bike that I like to take on big trips. Recent journeys include the North Coast 500 route around Scotland and back down through the Kielder Forest. I’m also planning a trip this summer through Europe — over the Swiss Alps, past the Italian Lakes and along the south coast of France to Cannes. I also love extreme walking and hiking trips. This year my wife and I have climbed Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Scafell Pike.
What makes your business different to other drainage companies?
I truly believe it’s the great and friendly service we provide. Most drainage companies are just selling commodities, whereas we take the time to understand our customers’ pain points and offer the best solution we can. Because we are installers as well as merchants, we’re in an advantageous position to provide genuine expert advice.
Why did you start Cotterill Drainage?
The original business was purely a contracting company. We always struggled to find a good local source of specialised drainage products for our own work, so we saw this as an opportunity to start our own merchant business.
What are your plans for Cotterill Civils in the coming year?
Raising the bar again on the customer experience. We’re good — but not perfect — and perfection is something we continually strive for. We now have triple ISO accreditation, which drives our continuous improvement process.
What’s your managerial style, and how effective do you think it is?
Interesting question! I’m not sure I have a particular “style” as such. I work hard and am very much part of the day-to-day team effort. Being among the team has a positive effect on everyone doing what they do best.
I believe in empowering people to make their own decisions. I see many bosses who think every decision must go through them, which makes them a bottleneck to growth. Allowing my team members to make their own decisions stimulates ownership and innovation.
What’s your ultimate business goal for Cotterill Civils and beyond?
It might sound a little sugary sweet, but our mission statement sums it up perfectly: “Through the life of our business we want to make the world a cleaner, greener, more fertile, less polluted and safer place to live, work and play. In so doing, we will be spoken about and praised — which is the biggest reward life can bring.”
What’s the secret to Cotterill Civils’ rapid growth?
I have to credit our great team of talented people, our written sales processes, and our systems that maintain the highest level of customer experience. Our rapid growth has largely come from repeat orders and referrals — proof that happy customers come back.
What do you think are the most pressing environmental issues today?
Global warming is certainly the headline topic at G20 summits, but air and water pollution caused by urban sprawl are, in my opinion, our biggest concerns. Our product range helps address these issues — including attenuation systems, sewage treatment plants, hydrocarbon separators, gas membranes, and land drainage systems.
What’s the future of the drainage sector?
If we knew that answer, we’d keep it very close to our chests! That said, I think SuDS will continue to increase demand for attenuation over the next 20 years. Products made from recycled plastic materials will also play an even bigger part in new, innovative solutions as we move into the next millennium.
These insights from Andy give a great look into how our business strategy is shaped and our goals for the year ahead and beyond. If you’d like to know more about us and how we can help your business, call us on 0121 351 3230.