DH: What is your favourite holiday destination?
PP: Tenerife – I went there in 2010 for my colleague Andy Cairns’ 50th birthday and I’ve been back every year since. I was there for a month three years ago at Christmas and I met my partner there.
DH: What car do you drive?
PP: Mitsubishi ASX. It’s easy to get in and out of, and at 68 you need that. It is so easy to drive. It’s a four-wheel-drive but not massive, so I can get around smaller lanes.
DH: What are your hobbies?
PP: Staying at my holiday home at Cockerham Sands Holiday Park in Lancashire. I can sit on my verandah drinking a beer and watching the jumps of the nearby Black Knights parachute centre. I spent loads of time there until Scania dragged me out of retirement.
DH: How did you get into the industry?
PP: Because I grew up with it. I left school at 15, started on the spanners, got fed up with getting dirty and progressed to sales. But don’t let anybody tell you it’s a 9-5 job – it’s more like 5-9.
DH: How would you encourage more people into the industry?
PP: Promote apprenticeships more to get new blood in early. I’d like to see more work experience encouraged in schools. I don’t think this industry puts opportunities for young people out there forcefully enough. They should get HR teams into schools to tell them we need good people in this industry. I’d also say you can start hands-on but you don’t have to stay there.
DH: What is the outlook for your sector of the market over the next 12 months?
PP: Looking good. We have had a positive start to the year, which I’m certain will continue. We only opened in February and sold 20 trucks in the first month.
