Please tell us a bit about yourself!
My name is Paul Normington. I live in Plympton, Devon and moved from Hull to the West Country 19 years ago in 2002. I have worked for Dortek for 15yrs and my role is Regional Project Manager for the South West of England and South Wales

What first inspired you into the engineering and architectural industry?
I had been in customer facing sales roles in the motor industry since leaving school and ended up in Devon supplying alloys wheel and performance tuning parts for Mercedes and BMW. I have always enjoyed the interaction with people and helping architects / end users to overcome technical challenges

What made you want to work for Dortek?
I was living in Devon looking for a change of role, so when the opportunity arose to work for a company in my home town without having to move house again was a bonus. I had a very early Sunday morning interview with Alan in Beverley after a heavy night out. Don’t remember a lot about it but I must have done something right ? I love driving, so the regional sales role gave me the opportunity to be back out on the road again and meeting new clients in a variety of sectors

How has COVID affected your role within Dortek?
At the moment it has meant I don’t get out to site meetings as much as I used to and most of my meetings are on TEAMS. That is gradually starting to get back to normal and I believe it is very important to meet the clients / architects face to face to build the relationships which have been beneficial for me in the past 15 years

What do you like about working with Dortek?
It helps when the product I sell is the market leader. The variation in projects from a single door in a chicken factory to multi million pound high spec pharmaceutical project means every day is different, interesting and challenging. Also the internal staff who I speak to everyday have become friends rather than work colleagues, which definitely makes a difference when you work remotely from the head office. The technical back up and experience available from all departments is also a massive benefit and a credit to Dortek and I couldn’t do my job without the people behind the scenes

What are their interests outside work?
Since the first lockdown I have taken up walking and I am very lucky to live next to Dartmoor National Park within walking distance. I have done several 26 mile walks to Tavistock and will try and continue to get out as often as I can. I have an 8 month old puppy called Nellie who keeps me active.  I also enjoy watching football, especially Manchester Utd, Hull City and the Green Army Plymouth Argyle, motor racing, reading, the beach and of course outdoor wood fired Pizza / BBQ with a few ciders or 6.