Barry Kirkham: Reflecting on 15 years with Tufcoat

Barry Kirkham has been a key part of the Tufcoat team for nearly 15 years.

When he first stepped through our doors in 2010 with little construction experience, Barry brought a fresh perspective from his background in design and marketing – expertise that quickly proved invaluable.

Barry has grown into a seasoned shrink-wrap expert. As our Commercial Manager, he’s been pivotal in driving business growth and leading innovations like Wraphix™ shrink-wrap printing and branding solutions.

In this Q&A, Barry shares the insights from his 15-year journey with Tufcoat, highlighting the important aspects of his role, the secrets to the company’s continued success and what continues to fuel his interest.

What do you enjoy about working for Tufcoat?

Every day is different, which keeps things exciting. One day, I could be working behind the scenes at a Premier League football stadium, and the next, I could be navigating the Foreign Office or Westminster Hall. The job has opened doors to amazing opportunities and taken me to incredible places.

I enjoy the variety. Being a small business, we all muck in and do what’s needed – even bleaching toilet floors! It’s not a case of “that’s your job;” it’s about finding a solution if there is a problem affecting any area of the business.

But I genuinely enjoy working with a talented team and getting stuck into projects that make a difference. The perfect blend of variety, teamwork and purpose makes working here so rewarding.

How has the business changed since you started working at Tufcoat?  

The company’s journey hasn’t always been easy. We’ve certainly had our share of good and not-so-good times. Over the 15 years I’ve been here, Tufcoat has gone through cycles of expansion, contraction, and expansion again.

Since COVID, we’ve rebuilt the business and workforce. Our main office and wholesale operations are based in the South West, with three regional teams spread across the country. This structure enables us to provide full coverage across the UK and beyond for our supply and installation services.

We’re a very customer-centric business. For me, putting customer satisfaction and client service at the top of our priority list is the key to the company’s success. Long-term relationships have been the foundation of this business, and they’re more vital now than ever before.

What are your main responsibilities as commercial manager?

My role spans many different business areas, from project management to overseeing the integration between wholesale and installations, crucially keeping our products and services competitive.

Recently, I’ve been managing one of our biggest projects – upgrading our in-house systems. This massive undertaking involved stripping the business back to its core processes, analysing what we were doing and where we were wasting time and then looking into how we could improve those procedures.  We’ve moved away from Salesforce, which we’ve used for the past 10 or 12 years, to a more agile system integrating CRM and financial capabilities with a new ERP system. Now, we can manage all our stock efficiently, from the factory to our warehouse. This gives us greater visibility across all of our processes and minimises duplication of information.

Identifying a problem and then looking at the solution is also key. For example, for the wholesale side of the business, I analysed costs, such as how much money we were spending to fulfil orders, and realised we could save by using available space to create a warehouse and storage facility. So, now we ship some orders directly from there, which has helped us cut costs and supply our installation teams efficiently.

I also work alongside our Contacts Manager, Kieran Walsh, to ensure continuity on our projects and customer service. If Kieran’s out of the office, I’ll speak to the customer to understand their requirements, provide them with a quote for the work, or make sure we have the right people for projects. When Keiran’s back in the office, I’ll update him on everything so he’s up to speed.

This is a side of my job that I enjoy, visiting client sites, meeting with customers, and offering solutions that add real value to their projects. I’m passionate about nurturing those relationships and ensuring our customers get the best service possible.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?  

A challenging part of my role is balancing the differing requirements and switching between dealing with external and internal problems. Whether it’s a customer problem or an internal request from a colleague, there’s always something urgent, and the real challenge is juggling priorities effectively.

As I mentioned, our strength has always been customer service and satisfaction; I don’t want to see that slip. So, I need to ensure that we stay proactive, maintaining audited processes, like ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, while also being reactive and flexible and adapting to changing customer needs or project schedules.

At the same time, I need to help grow the business for our regional teams.

So, the challenge is balancing all the demands and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

What changes or challenges have you seen within the industry?  

Shrink-wrap demand has definitely increased over the last three or four years. When I started at Tufcoat, there were only a handful of companies doing what we do. Now, the industry’s grown, and we’re seeing more smaller and regional players enter the market.

Another big change is that more clients are handling shrink-wrap projects themselves instead of relying on specialists. This shift has expanded the industry at an even faster pace. For me, it’s a sign that people are recognising the value of shrink-wrap across different sectors.

How is the company addressing sustainability?  

Sustainability has been a core focus for us, and our environmental practices were in place long before sustainability became a buzzword and mainstream public talking point. We’ve had a zero-waste-to-landfill policy for years and always look for ways to improve.

We’ve set up recycling schemes on sites where we supply materials to prevent waste from going to landfills, and we make sure our shrink-wrap can be part of a closed-loop process. This includes setting up dedicated recycling bins for our products or taking materials back to be recycled by our partners.

There’s always more we can do, but we’re committed to educating and offering solutions that benefit both our customers and the environment.

Tell us a bit about your life outside of work

Life isn’t any quieter outside of Tufcoat! My two boys are football mad, so if my wife and I aren’t watching them play, we’re usually busy taking our basset hound out on adventures or diving into ongoing home renovation projects.