Mon, 01 March, 2021
Business Development Consultant, Nick McCarthy joined TWI last year, having previously worked in sales related to many of the same sectors that TWI operates in, including oil and gas, exploration, transport and off highway.
With his varied background, that saw him travel across the world, we decided that we would take a moment to introduce him – and let him explain more about his role at TWI…
Nick McCarthy
Nick, can you start by letting us know about your career before joining TWI?
“As you mentioned, I worked in sales and business development since I was in my early 20s. I previously worked selling thermal management solutions, plastics welding services and, for a period of time, was a self-employed sales consultant.
“For the past 8 years, I worked for KUKA UK within the Advanced Welding Solutions division (AWS). For the first 5 years of that, my position was Sales Manager for North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), with an emphasis on new business development. Latterly, my role had been as Business Unit Manager for AWS UK, which includes the Thompson brand of rotary and linear friction welding machines. This role was global and involved selling machines in China, across Europe, and in both North and South America. My role also included managing the Thompson sales team and liaising with KUKA subsidiaries all over the world.”
And, how about your role at TWI?
“I am the Business Development Manager for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies at TWI. I also work within specific industrial sectors in support of business development, such as off highway.”
What about when you are not at work? Do you have any notable hobbies or pastimes?
“I enjoy cycling, both for leisure and to keep fit, and am also the lead guitarist in three bands, including a covers band called ‘Blind Lemon,’ which I founded 30 years ago. The other two are a ‘The Who’ tribute band and a reggae originals band.
“My musical highlights in recent years include playing on an ‘80s cruise to the Mediterranean - on the Navigator of the Seas - with Tony Hadley, ABC, Kim Wild, Go West and Sara Cox.
“I have only recently joined the reggae band after being asked to contribute guitar parts to a song called Crisis 19, which is about living in lockdown, etc, during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
You mention the pandemic, so how are you finding your work in the current climate?
“Like many people, I am currently working from home and there are obviously limited opportunities to visit our facilities, customers or exhibitions. At the moment, this essentially makes it more of a challenge to understand technologies I am less familiar with, although I have worked from home historically and I am adapting to meeting people on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.
“I am utilising tools like Linkedin extensively to research new business contacts, opportunities and actively joining relevant industry sector meetings and relevant networking opportunities online. I also recently presented at the ‘Rapid Joining of Timber Webinar,’ which was jointly hosted by TWI and The University of Cambridge.
“That said, I look forward to the opportunities to travel and visit customers in the not too distant future.”
Finally, what is your vision for the future for business development at TWI?
“To grow the TWI Membership and in turn be able to deliver more single client and collaborative solutions to industry. This also means helping to raise awareness of technologies within Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and the associated benefits to potential customers and existing Members.
“The emphasis is on being proactive not reactive. There’s a lot of good things going on at TWI and the challenge is to push those out in a targeted way to relevant sectors.”