Matt Williams was born in Bristol, where he lived until the age of 10, before temporarily moving to France near the city of Perpignan. At 12 years old, he moved back to the UK and has lived in Durham ever since.
Matt joined the F. Ball team as a technical representative in August 2017, so what did he do before? “Originally I wanted to be a fireman like my dad, who was in the fire service for 25 years. I applied a few times but eventually lost interest. My first long-term job was in a Nissan factory, where my main role was to test-drive the cars once they came off the production line.”
Following this, Matt operated his own flooring business for ten years, specialising in the installation of LVTs. He then worked as a contract rep for Wilkies Distribution, a member of the Headlam group, where he covered the North East and North Humberside. In his newest appointment as an F. Ball technical representative, Matt regularly visits customers and distributors, as well as carrying out site visits and specifications. “The number of visits in a week depends really”, he says. “Site visits can take a lot of time, so if I have several site visits in a week, I don’t get to see as many customers. It fluctuates from week to week.
“Every single day is different as an F. Ball technical representative. There are numerous roles within the job, from visiting contractors to training days. I really relish the new challenges I’m faced with daily.”
When we suggest that damp may be a common problem he comes across, Matt is quick to concur: “Damp, yes! It is by far the most popular complaint by customers. It’s shocking how many people don’t believe it will affect them until it’s too late.”
Outside of work, Matt claims that his life can be summed up by football, golf, and his kids: Caris, 10, Oliver, 9, and his new partner’s daughter, Freya, aged 5. “I’m very keen on golf and I’m a big supporter of Newcastle United…for my sins!”
“Probably not” is the answer to the question “Have you any achievements we may not know about”. We don’t believe him. “I did attempt six half-marathons in a year with some friends to raise money for the Phoenix Cancer Unit in Sunderland”, Matt reveals after some probing. “We made over £5000 in total, so I suppose that’s something.”
That certainly is something!