Quick Questions: Commercial Motor meets Karl Spooner, sales manager, Fruehauf

RB: What is your favourite holiday destination?
KS: Alfaz del Pi in Spain. Some family moved there last year and we try to visit every eight weeks. We see more of them now than when they lived 12 miles away.

RB: What car do you drive?
KS: A Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line.

RB: What are your hobbies?

KS: Shiyong kung fu. I train three times a week but struggle to keep up with the guys in their 20s. Family time is important to me, as is spending time on long beach walks with my two dogs.

RB: How did you get into the industry?
KS: In 1993 I secured six weeks of work as a welder at Fruehauf in North Walsham, Norfolk. This was meant to tide me over until a new job started, however I liked the company and ended up as area sales manager. I had a break from the industry for a few years and came back to Fruehauf in 2014 as sales manager. The company has now moved to Grantham, Lincolnshire, but the passion is still the same.

RB: How would you encourage more young people into the industry?
KS: Promote both apprenticeships and the industry in schools and colleges. We need to lose the “oily rag” image and show off the technology that exists in the industry today.

RB: What is the outlook for your sector of the market over the next 12 months?
KS: Encouraging. There are signs the tipping market will grow in the next 12 months, mainly in the construction sector. Fruehauf has a very high customer retention rate and we are making inroads into the rigid market. We have a healthy order book and had very good levels of enquiries from the recent Tip-ex show.

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