This week we’re doing a different type of blog, one where we get to meet captain of our ship – Managing Partner James Farrant, so, lets dive in!

1. Where are you from? Did you grow up locally?

I’ve always been in the Bournemouth area – born in the old Boscombe Hospital and lived for over 30 years within a mile of the beach in Southbourne. It was a fantastic place to live and I only moved out to Ferndown to suit work and family but thankfully it’s only 20 minutes from the sea and regular trips with the children are a must!

2. What were you doing before you started Intrasystems?

I came straight into the business from completing A-Levels at Bournemouth School. Unlike most of my contemporaries that went to University, I decided I wanted to get into business and move what was a very small family business forward into a profitable enterprise. I don’t regret doing it for a moment – I continued to study outside of work and am a great believer in “learning while earning”

3. What drove you into the entrance matting industry?

As I say we had a small family business that was doing anti-slip materials and matting, and I decided I wanted to grow that. It became clear there was real scope in the Entrance Matting field to make headway and that the industry was crying out for a comprehensive range of well-designed products that both looked great but were easy to install – so Intramatting was born!

4. What do you think the future holds for the industry, and INTRAsystems in particular?

I think the future is very positive for the industry. With increasing focus on sustainable design and health and safety, matting plays an absolutely key role in protecting flooring in buildings and helping keep the users safe. While the products are essentially a functional item, their design is crucial as they are invariably the first thing everyone sees when they enter a building and I think as far as INTRAsystems is concerned, we will be building on our successful focus on design to further enhance our range and give specifiers a greater choice in the future.

Alongside this I think there needs to be greater awareness amongst specifiers of the benefits of ensuring the fibre matting (either within the recessed matting channels or as close fitted matting) has adequate moisture absorption capability – with our climate it is the biggest challenge any building faces and there are still far too many specifications out there for products that simply can’t perform as they need to; so continuing to grow our CPD offering to specifiers is another area we will focus on.

5. What do you like doing in your spare time?Any hobbies?

I have two lively children, so a lot of my spare time is spent having fun with them. I passionately believe in education so am a trustee of a private school which involves regular time commitment but gives a huge sense of satisfaction as you see the results of really fantastic teaching first hand. Apart from that if I can scrape a spare hour or two my time would be torn between playing the piano and reading a really good book!

We hope this has given you a good introduction to James. If you would like to talk to us why not call us on 01425 472000 and we can help you with your next Entrance Matting request.