There’s no way of mistaking Mark Williams’ sporting allegiance.
The managing director of Elland-based passive fire protection company Checkmate Fire Solutions has been watching his beloved Bradford City since the age of seven. His office features autographed team pictures and memorabilia from the club. At one stage, the company was a corporate sponsor, but now Mark prefers to watch as a fan in the stands rather than miss the match because he’s too busy dishing out the prawn sandwiches.
“I have been a season ticket holder for many years,” he says. “I go to all the home games. The company had a box at the stadium for two years when Bradford were in League 2. Now, when I go there I’m just a fan. Corporate entertaining is alright, but I enjoy being a ‘proper’ fan.”
The football ‘stuff’ competes for wall space in Mark’s office with framed posters and images reflecting his other great passion – playing drums with a band of like-minded musicians.
“I started playing the drums eight years ago when I was 42,” he says. “I took it up and within a few months we were gigging. It was great. When I was a kid growing up in Bradford, another pupil brought his drum kit into school one day and I thought ‘wow’. Years later, I took lessons and now the band does gigs twice a month at pubs in Halifax, Bradford and Ilkley.
“We play everything from The Beatles and The Who to The Jam, The Sex Pistols and Abba.
“It requires a different kind of concentration to work. You have to give work your full attention because if you don’t you will lose out. It’s great to be up on stage playing and seeing peope enjoying it – and thinking ‘we’re making this happen.’
“My only regret is that I don’t have enough time to practice. We could be better musicians – but we all have jobs!”
Checkmate, which launched in 1991, specialises in surveying and installing passive fire protection in buildings such as offices, student flats and sports arenas. Services include inspecting and fitting fire walls, fire doors and fire dampers as well as installing partitions and fire barriers in roofs, ceilings, raised floors and curtain wall voids.
Among notable contracts, the company – which also has a site in Essex to serve London and the south-east and operates across the Arabian Gulf with agencies in Dubai and Bahrain – has installed products in such diverse locations as London’s Tower Bridge, the O2 Arena, Gatwick Airport, RAF Brize Norton and the Lincolnshire headquarters of Interflora.
Mark joined Checkmate in 2000 as contracts manager, having previously been a supplier to the firm. He was made a shareholder in 2003 as part of a management buy-out of the business and became a director in 2007 before rising to managing director.
Mark, who was born in Queensbury and still lives in Bradford, said: “I started as a bricklayer. I left school at 16 and left sixth form after three months because I wanted to get a job. I put myself through college to get City & Guilds in bricklaying, but I couldn’t see myself working on a building site for the rest of my days. I spent some time hiring tools to construction sites and then worked in sales with HILTY for nine-and-a-half years.
“The customers we sold to included Checkmate. They approached me and asked if I would be interested in joining them. I was in my mid-30s and looking for a bit of a change. It was a massive shock to the system moving from sales to managing a team of people, having to organise men and equipment as contracts manager. I didn’t just have to look after myself, but also the people I was working with.”
Being in charge of people proved a challenge in itself. “You expect people to work the same way as you,” says Mark. “Some people go to work and – with the best will in the world – they spend their time looking at the clock because they can’t wait to get away again. Others have gone to work elsewhere – and come back because they trust us as employers.”
Says Mark: “We insist on high quality work. We ask people to ‘up their game’ because we are great believers in delivering high quality services.
“We have accreditations that have helped us raise the bar. We joined the British Research Establishment Passive Fire Scheme in 1997 as a founder member and we have joined other schemes since. It’s a badge of honour for us. BRE audits our site work, processes and operations in the office.
“After every job we do, we issue a certificate of conformity. We deliver training seminars on a national basis for people from various institutions and companies, which has also helped us gain orders. We have given presentations everywhere from West Yokshire Fire and Rescue Service headquarters in Birkenshaw to a fire service HQ in Devon.”
Sadly, not all buildings have adequate passive fire protection, says Mark – and some modern structures are the worst, he claims. “The biggest danger is smoke,” says Mark. “It’s getting people to understand that while their new building looks lovely, if you look beneath the surface things aren’t always so pretty.
“Any buildings with sleeping accommodation are potentially at serious risk – hospitals, care homes and student flats, for example.” And there are always some who will cut corners. “They think they can seal walls and cavities with a bit of squirty foam or mastic,” says Mark. “Some people are willing to gamble. As a result, you see landlords prosecuted and NHS trusts served with enforcement notices.”
Meanwhile, Checkmate is firing up for the future. The company moved from “shabby” premises in Brighouse to modern offices at Lowfields Business Park in November last year – while its London office is expanding into neighbouring premises as well as recruiting three additional staff.
Now Mark is drumming up more business when he’s not drumming with the band – and he’s keen for Checkmate to top the charts!
“Since we moved to Elland, we have got busier,” he says. “Now I am focusing on developing the company’s PR and strategy.
“We are in a modern office building ideally located for our work along the M62 corridor. We have partnered with a company which makes fire resistant glass and we have the sole licence for Britain and Northern Ireland. We’re in a very competitive market, but we are in the top five companies in that market.”
Role: Managing director
Age: 49
Family: Married to Sophie with son Tom, 20, and daughter Abbie, 17
Holidays: My wife and I have been studying Spanish for three years so we go to Spanish-speaking countries. I’m also going to New York for my 50th birthday
Car: BMW 5 Series
First job: I worked for a labourer filling skips and digging holes to put myself through college
Best thing about the job? I like meeting different people. We take pride in what we do and we are respected in the industry
Worst thing about the job? When people choose the cheapest option – because they don’t understand what they are getting for the price they pay
Business tip: Go with your gut feeling, but listen to others and seek advice. No one has all the answers
Work: Passive fire protection installation services
Site: Lowfields Business Park, Elland
Phone: 01422 376436
Email: info@checkmatefire.com
