Meet Andy, our Business Development Manager

Tell us a bit about your typical day 

I get up about 6.30am, so I have time to walk my 2 Jack Russell dogs before breakfast. 

At the moment, we’re busy getting out and about seeing hire companies, so we have lots of meetings. My working day starts from the moment I get in the car and travel to a meeting. These can be anywhere around the country, and most meetings start around 9am.  

In an average meeting, I’ll introduce X-Hire and how it came about. I’ll then give everyone a demonstration of the tool and answer any questions, before discussing next steps with the supplier. Meetings last around 1-1.5 hours. Quite often, I have 2-3 meetings a day so I end up having lunch on the hoof.

How long have you worked in the tool hire industry?

17 years ago, I started at Travis Perkins tool hire as a fitter and driver. After 6 months, I was promoted to Tool Hire Manager. I then went onto various jobs within the builders' merchant/tool hire industry, including some national roles. 3 years ago, I became a Branch Manager for Hirebase, before leaving to come to X-Hire at the end of last year. 

What’s the best and worst thing about your job?

I enjoy meeting new people and building new relationships and growing a large network. I miss my family when I'm away, but I know travelling will become less frequent as X-Hire grows.

What have you learnt since being at X-Hire? 

It’s so important to get in front of the right person. Also, you can give the best description possible but a demo is the best way to promote X-Hire. 

Have you made any silly mistakes since being at X-Hire? 

We have 2 customers with the same name - one is UK and the other is Ltd. Not only did we send the account forms to the wrong one, but I also turned up for a meeting with the wrong customer. Easy mistake to make and I’ve learnt to double check those company names!

I also had a nightmare with my sat nav last week. During the bad weather, I ended up lost in the Brecon Beacons, on my way back from North Wales. I had to find my way over the mountains and everywhere the sat nav sent me, there were closed roads because of the snow or diversions for roadworks. I eventually went down a single lane with snow banks as high as the pickup windows (5ft) so I couldn’t see anything for 4 miles! It ended up taking me an extra 1.5 hours to get home!

Tell us a bit about what you do outside of work

I played rugby for 33 years, and I’m in the process of training to be a RFU coach. My son plays rugby so I hope I can be involved as well. I also do a bit of mixed martial arts, mainly because my son does and I enjoy joining in too. 

You can arrange a meeting with Andy to see a demo of X-Hire by emailing andrew.fry@x-hire.com or calling him on 07484 529736.