Having been with the Structural Support team for 18 months, Area Sales Manager Mark Gent has over 20 years’ experience working in temporary works.
Tell us a bit about your role
I cover the Midlands and East Anglia region, which on a day-to-day basis involves building relationships with customers old and new and providing safe, technical solutions to their problems. This requires developing an understanding of what their issues are and giving them precise advice along with value engineered solutions to help them achieve their goals.
What do you enjoy about it the most?
I like that every day is different, and no two jobs are the same; I get immense pleasure from helping our customers to find the right solution for them, while offering guidance throughout the entire structural support temporary works process. I work as part of a team who are extremely focused on giving our customers the best possible service which a product that is innovative, solution driven and cost effective, which is the best motivation I can have.
Describe your background and how you got into the industry
I am a qualified Mechanical Engineer, having completed an 8-year apprenticeship earlier on in my career, I quickly moved to working within a design department. This then led me into a commercial role during which I became involved in more technical aspects of the business, developing an interest in this area I then decided to try a role in technical sales which involved me working across different parts of the world.
What do you find to be the most interesting projects to work on?
I really enjoy taking on a challenge, whenever I’m told that the project involves a listed building or that it comes under the English Heritage guidance, these types of jobs are always testing and come with their own issues, constraints and challenges and I always relish what this might bring.
What do you appreciate about having strong working relationships with customers and how that benefits your job?
I appreciate that my customers come back to me for regular repeat business and this stems from helping them at every stage of their project. Building a good level of trust with your customers is key and they remember how well I have helped them previously. Knowing I am the first one they ring when they have a new project they are working on is such a great feeling!
For help with your next project contact a member of our team!
