ACR Journal

CMYK / .ai CMYK / .ai CMYK / .ai 27 IOR AWARDS "It's the fault-finding, that's what it's all about for me... I'm like a dog with a bone! I just love turning up on a new job and seeing how I can improve things. That's definitely what gives me the most satisfaction" acrjournal.uk Paul Gardner tells David Todd why he never wanted to be anything other than a service engineer. Working lifetime of service Ask Paul Gardner what he likes most about his job and there’s no pause for thought. “It’s the fault-finding,’’ he says. “That’s what it’s all about for me… I’m like a dog with a bone! I just love turning up on a new job and seeing how I can improve things. That’s definitely what gives me the most satisfaction.’’ That passion and dedication to his craft is what persuaded the IOR judges to present him with the Service Engineer Lifetime Achievement Award and he is understandably delighted, even if the ocial letter announcing he was a finalist came as something of a surprise. Wife Julie, a fellow director alongside their son, Justin, at JPS Refrigeration Ltd in Burton upon Trent, had put his name forward and Paul admits: “It was a bit of a shock because I had no idea Julie had put me forward.’’ Paul entered the industry in 1977 having left school at 16 and admits it was more by accident than design. “When I left, my parents basically said, ‘go and find a job and don’t come back until you have!’ I was walking into Wathes Refrigeration reception in Birmingham when one of the managers was coming out and he asked what I was up to. I told him I was looking for a job and, for my cheek, he said he’d give me a chance.’’ Paul joined Wathes as an apprentice and also studied at Solihull Technical College. “Things were a bit dierent then,’’ he recalls. “You had to pay for the course yourself and then the company gave you the money back if you passed. It was a pretty good incentive, looking back!’’ He remained with Wathes until 1991, managing projects for the likes of M&S, before leaving to work for himself as a sole trader until 2006. “Wathes wanted to make me Service Manager,’’ he says. “But that wasn’t for me. I really can’t cope with more than a couple of hours in the oce in one go.’’ He set up JPS Refrigeration Ltd in 2006 and the family firm has never looked back. Paul looks after service, Justin handles most of the installations and Julie makes sure everything runs according to plan. JPS has customers of all sizes across refrigeration and air conditioning and Paul says: “Our approach is always the same: Stop, Think, Be Thorough. Fortunately, Justin has the same mindset as me, so it seems to work.’’ Paul, 59, has spent 43 years as a service engineer and doesn’t see his career ending any time soon. “As long as I can get up in the morning, I’ll carry on,’’ he says. • The IOR Service Engineers’ Section makes an annual award, sponsored by the ACR Journal, to recognise an individual’s commitment to a career in service, maintenance or installation engineering. Paul Gardner of JPS Refrigeration