Business Hour

James Podevyn chats to Gail Bailey about his fascinating career journey and his vision for the continued success of Spiroflow, a Ribble Valley based company, which now has several sites in the United States

Born and bred in the Ribble Valley, ex-Stonyhurst College pupil James Podevyn had anything but a direct route into the family business that his father founded 45 years ago: “Whilst I used to spend my school holidays working at Spiroflow my focus was actually always to join the army,” explains James.

On finishing at Stonyhurst, James was successful in passing tests to join the army as an officer. However, he took the decision to defer his place for a year and travel.

“I wanted to give the army my all, and while travelling and having time to think, I decided that, as a commissioned officer has a short career, it would serve me well to gain a degree and go to university before taking up the place.”

While studying Design Technology with Business Management at York St John University, James joined the Territorial Army.

“I applied to be a regular soldier with the TA so that when I joined as an officer I had more credibility. I absolutely loved my time there and when passing the Combat Infantryman’s Course, I won the Best Soldier Award out of 100 other soldiers – this was a really proud moment for me,” says James.

James’ time spent in the TA made him realise he wanted to do something to really make a difference: “I had friends who were in the police and, as fate would have it, just as I started to consider this as a career choice, Greater Manchester Police were recruiting – within six weeks of thinking about it I was in!”

James’ eight years in the force comprised of five years as an immediate response officer, two with a proactive surveillance unit and then a year as an authorised firearms officer (AFO): “I learnt a lot from my time in the police and was also fortunate enough to meet my wife Karen, who had joined at the same time.”

Both being serving police officers, James and Karen knew how dangerous the job could be and the stresses it could put on family life, and once they became engaged, James decided to leave the police and join Spiroflow: “I spoke to my dad and, as I had always had an interest in sales, we decided this is where I could be most effective.”

James took over the role of North West Sales Manager in 2011 and has been with the company ever since. Feeling like he had something to prove when he first joined Spiroflow, he threw himself into the role and even broke a few records, selling over a million pounds of equipment in his first year.

James quickly rose to UK Sales Manager, then Sales Director and is now Co-Managing Director – working alongside lifelong family friend Ben Ayrton: “Ben and I joined Spiroflow at the same time and complement each other’s skills and attributes. I lead on the vision, sales, marketing and commercial aspects while Ben oversees the operation and engineering arm of the company – we balance each other perfectly and very much work as a team,” James explains.

Whilst never actually taking up the officer role in the army, he has no regrets. He recognises the transferable skills learnt during his time as a soldier and in the police, have very much contributed to his current role: “Being in the police made me incredibly resilient and solution-focused, along with being perceptive, a good questioner and a good listener,” explains James. “All of these traits are essential in managing a successful business and we have a great team of people here with a very positive and cohesive culture – and that’s really important to me to maintain.”

Spiroflow, who have grown significantly since their early days as inventors of the flexible screw conveyor, now has several sites in the United States, along with a UK base in Clitheroe. The company, which delivers engineered solutions that are designed to solve handling and processing challenges, works with major customers such as Heinz, Nestle, Kelloggs and P&G.

“Whilst we are a successful business we don’t stand still. Brexit has given us further opportunities both in domestic and export, and I also feel passionate about making the business more environmentally friendly as we grow.”

Being a STEM Ambassador and supporting local schools in developing young people’s employability skills James, and Spiroflow, are certainly an asset and a success story in the Ribble Valley.

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