The people and culture at Slater Harrison is a reason why we have been a successful, diverse and innovative company for over 90 years. Get to know our friendly team that continue to satisfy our customers needs on a daily basis.
James Braddock – Managing Director
James has been with Slater Harrison for over 30 years, starting work with us whilst still in 6th form. He has worked in every department of the company, continually gaining knowledge of the current business operations and how we can improve them. Outside of work, James coaches his two young boys’ football teams, watches live sport and reads modern fiction.
“The people are what make any team, and what a team we have! A real mixture of personalities, backgrounds, interests and experiences make Slater Harrison a really agile business. We are able to make fluid changes and react to business opportunities quickly.”
Chris Hehir – Sales Director
Chris joined our team in 2016, having over 25 years of experience working in the sales department for paper, board and coating companies. Chris spends his weekends coaching and supporting his son’s rugby, cricket and football teams in Macclesfield. He enjoys finding time to get to a live music gig too!
“We have a wide range of capabilities. We also have a number of established markets and great opportunities in new markets. Therefore, our customer base is extremely varied; large and small, new and long-standing, traditional and unfamiliar. This means we have to be extremely flexible and creative to provide solutions for all which is an interesting and exciting challenge both internally and externally.”
Paul Bowden – Sales Manager
Joining Slater Harrison in 1989, Paul has vast knowledge of the business. He begun in the general office, and after a couple of years moved into accounts where he covered multiple disciplines in sales, purchasing, credit control and payroll. For the past 20 years however, Paul has worked in the sales department, and in 2014 became our Sales Manager. He spends his weekends on the golf course, or watching his favourite sports on TV.
“I think everyone at Slater Harrison feels that there is a really friendly close-knit environment – this helps in day-to-day work as different departments can easily talk to each other ensuring the customer receives a quality product and service.”
David Cazalet – Finance Director
David was originally trained as an Engineer having studied at the University of Wales, Cardiff before passing Management Accountancy exams in 2000. He has worked in a number of very different organisations and environments from large and small engineering companies to pensions software. Initially, David worked as a management accountant, before being delighted to be appointed as Financial Director in 2018. David claims nothing can beat a good spreadsheet, but when he’s not at work he enjoys spending time in the mountains, summer or winter, and keeping fit through cycling, especially off road, and better still with a beer afterwards. Most summers David heads off to France for a family holiday in their campervan, usually with cycles strapped to the back.
“I’m enjoying being part of a small but talented team committed to working together to build on the strengths of Slater Harrison and equip it to grow and thrive in the rapidly changing world we all now live in.”
Tony Myers – Key Account Manager
Tony has worked in the paper and board industry for 33 years now. For the last 5 years with Slater Harrison, he has been developing new business opportunities in the packaging sector with printers, designers and converters. He finds the packaging sector fascinating to work in, constantly innovating and evolving, still giving him a buzz! Tony is a keen tennis player & die-hard sports fan.
“I’ve always been impressed with our ‘can do’ attitude. We get lots of requests to find print and packaging solutions and have an excellent technical and lab team who are always open to pushing the boundaries and developing new ideas and products.”
Jayne Woosey – Technical Manager
Jayne is the Technical Manager for both Slater Harrison and Webmaster. She is responsible for new product and coating development, solving technical issues, material analysis, benchmarking and anything else which may be required of a technical nature! With over 34 years’ experience in the coating industry developing a variety of water-based coatings and inks, Jayne actually started her career on a Youth Training Scheme, the equivalent of today’s apprentice scheme, studying part time for both a B.Sc. Hons. in Chemistry as well as an M.B.A. These days rather than studying, her free time is spent exploring the outdoors, going to live music events and becoming a qualified Indian Head Masseuse.
“Solution based product development in a diverse marketplace can be challenging but enjoyable with the right team to support. Close co-operation between experienced team members mean that Slater Harrison offer a fast and flexible response which not only offers great job satisfaction but a happy customer as well.”
Rachael Bowden – Export Manager
Our export manager, Rachael Bowden has recently celebrated 25 years of working at Slater Harrison. She joined the company straight from high school, and has worked in various areas of the business including warehouse packing, administration of mail orders, reception and now export management. Slater Harrison has been an important part of Rachael’s family, with her both her parents and grandparents also long standing and valued employees. Outside of work, Rachael is a die-hard Manchester United fan, and not only attends every home game but travels away too. When not spending time with her young boy, Rachael loves a girls night out!
“Every day provides a new and interesting challenge at Slater Harrison. Our team co-operates well together in providing our customers with excellent service day in day out.”
Heather Mitchell – Customer Services
Heather hails from Kent in the South East of England, and relocated to Macclesfield 21 years ago. She has recently joined the Slater Harrison team in the Customer Service department. Originally working for her family business for 13 years in a sales and service role, she relocated at 29 years of age, working for Conde Nast Publications Ltd (printers of high-end glossy magazines like Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair). Heather was a client facing Advertising Account Director travelling all over the country meeting a variety of advertisers ranging from the home interest sector, fashion and beauty, food and drink, car, jewellery and travel sectors. Heather has a sales and marketing background with a broad understanding of how businesses function. Heather loves to walk her two German Short Haired Pointers, Bonnie and Skye. Her favourite holidays are road tripping through the USA, in particular California, visiting their National Parks and doing her favourite thing, whale Watching in Monterey Bay. Her ‘fly and flop’ holiday spot is the Greek Islands.
“I hope that my first-hand family business experience and my 21 years working for a global media organisation will stand me in good stead at Slater Harrison. The team are fantastic, very helpful and friendly and I’m looking forward to learning about the paper industry in detail.”
Jenny Smallwood – Business Director
Jenny brings more than 46 years’ experience in the paper industry to the team at Webmaster & Slater Harrison. She begun work in the field after graduating from high school – with various roles in quality control, production management and planning. Jenny notably spent 13 years at local Bollington coating company Tullis Russell before joining Webmaster in 2006. At Webmaster, our Business Director leads a small, but tight knit team in day-to-day operational management, purchasing and planning. Jenny also oversees the embossing department, manages key accounts, handles technical enquiries and supports production planning for parent company Slater Harrison. Fell walking in the Lakes District is a true love of Jenny’s, and in 2016 she completed the Wainwrights, a series of 214 peaks – with all but one exceeding 1000 feet in height. She enjoys exploring the outdoors with her rescue Dobermann, and of course treating herself to a nice gin on a girl’s night out.
“We have a diverse range of coating & converting equipment which makes us very versatile in our capability. All this under one roof gives us full control. Our passion is to offer bespoke solutions to our customers.”
Viv Denny – Purchasing Manager
Viv has over 30 years of experience in the paper industry, with various roles in sales, purchasing and stock control. Before joining the Slater Harrison team, she worked with our sister company Webmaster, looking after customers and assisting with production. Viv has a love for reading anything from a crime novel to a good love story. She has been spotted at the concerts of Jess Glynn, Ellie Goulding, Blondie and can’t wait to see Abba’s Voyage show next year.
“During my time at Webmaster and Slater Harrison, with the help of my colleagues, I have had the opportunity to not only grow in my role but also as a person. I’ve also been lucky enough to make some lifelong friendships. There’s a definite ‘can do’ attitude in the office which helps to keep you feeling positive.”
Wayne Machin – Health & Safety Advisor
Wayne joined Salter Harrison in March 2023, taking over from the retiring Vanessa Whalley. Wayne has over 40 years of experience in the engineering and manufacturing sectors. This ranges from fire engine manufacture, hospital equipment installation and the manufacture of both military and civilian aviation simulators. In his spare time Wayne enjoys wildlife photography and walking with his two dogs.
Wayne is relishing the challenges an established business presents. Particularly a business located in the same premises since the 1930s! He’s had a great handover from Vanessa and is looking forward to working with the friendly, helpful and supportive team.
Steve Farmer – Management Accountant
Steve has 30+ years’ experience in manufacturing industries, mostly paper & board related, but also within construction machinery, robotic equipment and mass component production. Several years of hands-on shop floor responsibilities and managerial level CIMA accountancy qualifications provide Steve with a sound foundation to fulfil management accountancy, cost accounting and inventory management responsibilities, all of which have been put to good use in his current “utility” capacity at Slater Harrison. Outside of work he enjoys working on home projects, most recently a new bathroom installation, patio design and construction, and shed design and build. Steve’s attends all types of music events, from basements to large festivals, the most recent one being Bloodstock festival.
“Slater Harrison is managed from the heart creating a genuine spirit of cooperation and common objectives revolving around customer satisfaction.”
Adam Stevens – Business Administration Apprentice
Adam has joined Slater Harrison on a Business Administration apprenticeship. Adam has started his journey learning the sales side of the business. This involves processing orders, putting them onto the system and other things such as replying to customers queries. He will also progress to learning other parts of the business such as Purchasing, Production Planning and Health and Safety. After leaving school Adam obtained a Diploma in Business and Marketing at Macclesfield College. such as Purchasing, Production Planning and Health and Safety. Adam is an avid pool and snooker player where he is currently an amateur pool player on the IPA tour and is hoping to turn professional within the next few years.
“I enjoy the fact that it is a small team, it means that you get to know the people you’re working with better. Furthermore, every member of staff is very experienced in their own roles. This will help me develop better skills over the time that I’m working here.”
Harry Cooper – Business Administration Apprentice
Harry has started his Business Administration Apprenticeship at Slater Harrison with our sales team. Initially this includes taking phone calls from customers, creating internal orders to be picked and dealing with any issues via email, such as order enquiries, price checks and availability/lead-time checks. Harry will advance on to other aspects of the business as his Apprenticeship progresses. Before joining Slater Harrison, Harry studied A Levels in Sports Science at Tytherington Sixth Form. Outside of work Harry enjoys watching lots of football, specifically Manchester City were he is a season ticket holder and attends the games with his Dad.
“At Slater Harrison I enjoy how friendly everyone is and how well every gets on, it makes the environment very friendly and a great place to work. I also enjoy that my apprenticeship requires me to learn about the paper industry. I am looking forward to the challenge.”
