In our regular feature, we find out about members of the Scottish Decorators’ Federation. This time, we hear from James Robertson, the third James in his family to lead Robertson Decorators.
What’s your background?
My grandfather James Lyle Robertson started the company back in 1952, then my dad (also James) took over in the 1980s and I joined the family business in 1998, when I was 16 years old. I served my Modern Apprenticeship and then later achieved an HNC in Construction Management. I became fully immersed
in the business. I began teaching at Clydebank College in 2007 (now amalgamated with West College Scotland) and I’ve been there ever since, teaching two and half days a week and doing this job the rest of the time. I’m lucky to have Graeme Gibb as Operations Director, who started in the business as an apprentice in 2010. He’s a safe pair of hands and looks after things when I’m not here. More recently, we brought in Robert Oliver as Project Manager. He has been a tremendous help to both of us.
When my dad retired in 2012, we made a lot of changes to the company, introducing computers and sweeping away the old analogue way of working. We launched a website and we’re on social media too –
it’s just the way the world’s moving.
The company was built on repeat business and word of mouth, but as we expand into new territory – new builds, industrial and commercial work – we need to have an online presence. Having said that, we still do private, domestic work for customers from my father’s and even my grandfather’s time in the business.
We have two Modern Apprentices in the business currently and are looking to hire more. It’s useful to
be able to see them when I’m teaching at the college, so I know who is best fit for us.
What’s your specialty?
We do a wide variety of work, so I’d be hard pushed to narrow it down. We are working on new builds, industrial spraying and we’re just about to start on The Balmoral hotel refit in Edinburgh, plus all those smaller, domestic jobs that we still do.
Our team has all the skills needed to do almost anything that is asked of us, from a multi-million pound penthouse with expensive wallpaper to a wee ex-council house.
A lot of the larger work tends to come through other companies – we are sub-contracted on The Balmoral job, for example. It’s funny how our name gets around though – we work with interior designers or contract managers who go on to work elsewhere and take us with them.
We get a lot of last-minute calls about jobs that needed done yesterday, and we always try to fit them in somehow. For instance, the local bowling club was having an anniversary do and they realised their gate
was looking a bit rusty, so asked if we could paint it at short notice. It was so rusty we had to take it off its hinges, get it shot blasted and then brought it back to its former glory.
When did you join the SDF?
We’ve always been members as long as I can remember. The company was originally called JL Robertson & Son and now we are Robertson Decorators, so we must have been members for more than 50 years.
What’s the best thing about the Federation?
Neil Rogers (Chief Executive) is always at the other end of a phone if I need any advice, whether it’s legal, HR or otherwise.
The SDF also organises training courses and some of us did a Site Manager Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) that it helped to put on as a benefit for SDF members. The Federation has great links with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and it helps with funding. If SDF can’t organise the course, then it will put us in touch with an organisation that can. SDF will try and get the best deal for us, so it’s good to know that the Federation has got our back.
How has the Federation changed?
I think the Federation has broken into social media a lot more. Former President Mark Niven and the current President Graham McDonald have worked wonders in bringing the Federation into the 21st century. We know how difficult it can be, having had to launch our own website and start social media accounts.
I’ve been invited to sit on the board too, so it’s interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. Hopefully I can help the Federation with my teaching experience at the college.
What’s been the biggest challenge in your career?
When we rebranded from JL Robertson & Son to Robertson Decorators, we had to tread a fine line between keeping the family business/heritage side of things and developing that into the new, more commercial aspects of the company. It was a risk, but we have managed to tap into shopfitting companies, new build contractors and interior designers. And these are UK-wide contracts we are picking up now. My dad did a great job of building customers, but they were localised businesses, nothing really outside the Paisley area. We had to almost double our workforce and restructure the way the company operated, but everything is working smoothly now.
What’s been your favourite job?
We were picked to work on the Commonwealth Games when they were in Glasgow in 2014.
We were sub-contracted on that one, but we still got to work in Hampden and Celtic Park painting the Royal Box – it’s not every day you get to paint Celtic Park blue! The timescales were tight, but it was great to be a part of it. The games are coming back to Glasgow next year, so you never know, we might get that job again.
What would be your dream job?
You’ve put me on the spot. Maybe a job in Spain where the weather is nice and you can tie a holiday in with it.
What are your long-term plans for the business?
We don’t want to get too much bigger – the bigger you get, the more headaches you get, but we are certainly ambitious and want to keep going at this pace and picking up high-profile work as we are.
We would love to keep winning more awards – we were happy with the result at the SDF Awards in March (see page 17). It was tricky entering that Ministry of Defence job for the awards, as we weren’t allowed to take pictures. Even getting the judges in was a huge task – they all had to get security clearance.
The company encourages self-improvement within the workforce, so if someone feels that they need skills such as spray painting or Ames taping, then we will push that forward. That goes for office staff too, so we are sending someone on a Mental Health First Aid course soon, which will help identify any issues with staff before it’s too late.
Can you tell us a little about your life beyond work?
I’ve been married to Lindsay for 15 years and we celebrated our anniversary in May. We have three small children – Ellie-Rose is six, Riley is two and half and Chloe is one. My family is very important to me and
I try to spend as much time with them as I can.
I used to play football, but after Chloe was born I had to bow out. I’ve had a some bad injuries – one when I was 21 and then again recently I was hospitalised for three days.
I’m a massive Rangers fan and I try to go to a lot of the matches. I also love golf and I am a member at Renfrew, which is local to me. The light nights are great right now as, once the kids are in bed, I can get in nine holes and a quick pint to unwind a bit after work.
I’ve played at Loch Lomond a few times, which is a great privilege. We brought up the subject of a golf day for members at an SDF committee meeting recently. It would be great to meet up with some other members for a few holes and share our stories of the trade.
Photograph shows painters from Robertson Decorators painting the Royal Box at Hampden for the Commonwealth Games in 2014.