Amos Wood, Head of National Operations
Next up in our Meet the Team Series:
Next up in our Meet the Team Series, we meet Amos Wood, Head of National Operations. Amos joined Anglian Building Products in 2019 and brings an extensive wealth of operational and leadership experience. His career began in the Royal Air Force, before moving on to electrical engineering and electrical security for some well-known brands.
Amos entered the home improvement sector in 2007 as a Regional Operations Manager for Anglian Home Improvements, later holding Director roles at Entu PLC and Everest. And after a few spells with other businesses in the sector, Amos returned to Anglian Group, but this time to Anglian Building Products.
Amos currently oversees five regions and around 57 live contracts nationally, a number that continues to grow, all supported by the team he has built from the ground up.
Amos comments: “We’ve definitely got a broad scope of services. Our core focus is, of course doors and windows, but because we’re FIRAS accredited, we also deliver specialist fire door replacement programmes, and for some of our clients, we act as Principal Contractors.
From retail to commercial
“Having worked in both sides of the business, I’ve seen just how different they are, each with its own set of challenges. In retail, you’re working directly with homeowners, most of whom have saved up thousands for their new window replacements, and we take that customer on a journey for about 10 weeks, but once it’s done, that’s it, and if something goes wrong you don’t ever really deal with them again.
“But on this side of the table, it’s a whole different animal. When you’re working with clients who have portfolios of 50,000 properties, the relationships are much bigger, and the stakes are much higher. If they’re spending millions of pounds with us a year, locked in for five years or more, maintaining strong relationships and hitting ongoing KPIs with our clients, is absolutely vital.
“The biggest part of my job is Client Liaison. Obviously a lot of my focus is on the larger partnerships but, it’s not all about volume, some of the smaller more complex contracts, like fire door projects are lower value but need just as much focus, and I support on these when needed.
“I’m also responsible for the surveys nationally, and behind the scenes, the scale of operations is big. We’re currently surveying thousands of units per week across ABP and we’re installing hundreds of frames a day.
Navigating industry challenges
“Wave 3 Funding is a big conversation every day at the moment and because we’re PAS 2030 accredited, clients are looking to us for support. But the truth is, there’s still a big knowledge gap. Millions from Wave 2 were left unspent, simply because people didn’t know how to access or use it, and for us it would be irresponsible to not help our clients navigate that process.
The last 50 years
“Not a lot has changed in the industry over the past 50 years in terms of delivery, though there is definitely some excitement around product innovation. However, one area that continues to challenge us, is recruitment – it’s the industry’s Achillies’ heel. We all talk about the skills gap and how it is getting wider, but there are very few in the field that are willing to invest into apprenticeship programmes, and that’s where the challenge lies. We all know, if one does decide to take the lead, they often end up training and funding the rest of the industry, as once apprentices are trained, they tend to move around.
I’d love to see us eventually create a programme of our own, something that could really build our legacy. I’ve done it in previous jobs and it worked brilliantly, but it takes serious investment and time.
“What I enjoy most about my role is the interaction I have with our clients. We’re so lucky to have such strong healthy relationships. Ultimately, they don’t want any aggravation and want us to deliver to a high standard, and my team do a very good job of keeping things running smoothly. I also like getting involved with our internal stakeholders too, like Sam Alleyne our Head of Business Development and Major Bids, developing new businesses, new relationships, and working on other projects on the side.
“I’m usually on the road once or twice a week, whether that’s visiting one of our clients or popping to one of the regions. After a busy day, I like to switch off by staying active. I kickbox a few days a week and I’m also part of a running club ‘Stomp and Chomp’ and I also take part in cross country and marathons with one coming very soon in December.