Meet the Team
Austin Hughes
Facilities & Asset Management
Like father, like son, Austin loves working with his hands, and during lock down, used his skills to turn an old shed into a man cave using recycled materials, mainly pallets (…wow, that’s pretty impressive… and it includes a fully stocked bar!) show more...
He used to be a mad footballer at school but since entering the ‘real’ world, rarely finds the time these days.
Likes: Practical work, particularly working with and making things out of wood, good quality tools, all forms of construction, digger driving (random!), all types and flavours of donuts (he does not discriminate) and table tennis, to name a few.
Dislikes: Bad quality tools, seeing good quality wood being wasted because he will find a use for it! Oh, and Monday mornings (they’re the worst).
Dreams of: Beating Chris McQuillan 3 straight sets at table tennis (...sadly, I don’t think there’s any chance of this happening any time soon).
Barry Saunders
Warehouse & Distribution
Barry spends his days whizzing about in the van doing the weekly deliveries around the North. Catch him if you can.
Bethany Palmer
Customer Care
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, this sweet girl can cope under pressure and she can hold her own. With an eye for detail, and a penchant for Smarties McFlurrys, our Beth, is sure to keep you right. show more...
Bethany's pet-peeve is when other drivers are on the road at the same time as her, so please, would you do her a courtesy and get off the road!
In other news, she is loving her new role as an 'aunticorn' (official definition: like a normal aunt, only more awesome). She's slightly skittish, but the office wouldn't be the same without her loud gasps and gazelle-like tendencies.
Likes: Chai tea, Starbucks, sleep and spending summers in the South of France.
Dislikes: making decisions, early mornings and spiders.
Chris McQuillan
Purchasing
Chris is a Grade 1 Table Tennis Coach and Captain of Ballymena A Table Tennis Club. He loves musical theatre and 80's music.
And ...he's a major Ballymena Utd superfan!
Conor McDermott
Engineering & Maintenance
Conor loves nothing more than being stuck behind a 16KG washing machine in Cork on a Friday afternoon. He also has the unique inability to see parts that are right bang in front of his face (do we need to give him directions to Specsavers?) show more...
Likes:
Dislikes:
Dreams of:
Connor McQuillan
Warehouse & Distribution
Connor is the newest member of the team but is anything but shy. A real talker, he’s sure to put you at ease if you’re the type that struggles to make conversation.show more...
Likes: Singing and playing piano, snooker/pool and indoor bowls
Dislikes: Silence (would prefer to hear his own voice), snow and ice, bad drivers and people who take the low offer on The Chase.
Dreams of: Playing piano in the Royal Albert Hall.
Curtis Clelland
Warehouse Operative
Curtis works in our warehouse alongside Braden. They are very alike but both constantly complain about how annoying the other one is ...pot. kettle. boys! show more...
Likes: Nothing more than enjoying a few pints at his local.
Dislikes: Early mornings and the sharp objects Heather keeps in her desk.
Dreams of: Owning a pickup so that he can go for a rally around the dirt tracks.
Eddie Greer
Warehouse & Distribution
If Eddie’s not in a van, he’s busy picking orders on the warehouse floor. Likes to use his outdoor voice indoors.
Gary McCartney
Engineering & Maintenance
Gemma Andrews
Project Administrator - James Clement Interiors
Part of the James Clement Interiors team, Gemma keeps busy with furniture quotes and just loves working out the fabric requirements for curtains and blinds …or not… (do you know she doesn’t have curtains in her home? …well, the neighbours are the kind with 4 legs so why would you bother). show more...
Likes: Likes: Beach days, mountain walks, going out for dinner, Netflix, and red wine.
Dislikes: "Frogs, being cold, standing in queues and icy driveways.
Dreams of: Retiring to Spain with the family, learning Spanish (helpful in Spain), and having a home filled with lots of rescue dogs (although the husband might not agree).
Hannah Taylor
Project Management - James Clement Interiors
The sweetest member of our team has got to be Mrs Taylor. Although, she obviously doesn’t think we’re sweet enough from the amount of sugary confections she plies us with …definitely a feeder …never ever leave us Hannah! show more...
Likes: Order & organisation, candles, deep cleaning, sunny weekends by the coast and having a tan.
Dislikes: Bad manners, lack of sleep, feeling scared and tomatoes (strange girl!).
Heather Edgar
Marketing Manager
As our resident ‘Just for Fun’ team-games guru, meetings are never dull when Heather’s around. show more...
Likes: The banter, the beach, a bit of healthy competition and any excuse for a dinner party.
Dislikes: "Snowflakes", rodents, people cracking their knuckles (Bethany!!!), and early mornings (but the good coffee helps!)
Jay Grzeszczak
Project Site Manager
Jay is a busy man with his time split between the Service Dept. and managing projects on sites for the James Clement Interiors division. show more...
Likes: Fishing, family time and a job well done.
Dislikes: Bad weather, bad food and when things don’t go to plan;
Dreams of: Going on a fishing holiday (just make sure there’s no snakes about).
John Doyle
Warehouse & Distribution
John Lonergan
Account Manager
Not one for sitting around, he enjoys the simple things in life …cycling, chocolate and comedies (especially his laugh out loud favourite ‘Only Fools & Horses’). John’s go-to karaoke song is ‘Hotel California’, and if he had to eat one meal for the rest of his life it would have to be bacon & cabbage. show more...
Route66 is on his bucket list and he tells us if he could be an animal, he’d be an eagle (hmm …interesting!)
Likes: Christmas dinner (oh yeah)
Dislikes: People standing too close at checkouts
Dreams of: the beach
Johnny Woods
Operations Manager
Our jiving Johnny from Armagh takes charge of all goods-in and -out of the Warehouse. When he’s not doing this, he’s doing his best to keep the warehouse boys from getting up to too much mischief! show more...
Katie Preston
Service Co-Ordinator
Back from maternity leave (...honestly, some people will do anything to get a bit of time off work), Katie is adjusting to office life once again and her new role that involves looking after two engineers and supporting the sales team (wow, those mummying skills will come in some use). show more...
Katie is a big footy fan and a self-proclaimed ‘foodie’ (Katie - you’ve found your tribe).
Likes: being a new mum, cocktails and conspiracy theories
Dislikes: snow and defrosting the car in the morning
Dreams of: her next weekend getaway.
Kevin Glass
Business Development Director
Kevin started with us 13 years ago! He doesn't look old enough, does he? He works tirelessly to give the impression that he works tirelessly, yet amazingly delivers deals and diligence for his customers regularly. show more...
Likes: Good customer references, breaking targets and gaining new customers.
Dislikes: An untidy office and when Jay beats him at the Table Tennis.
Dreams of: Happy staff, happy customers, happy Tim.
Lloyd Palmer
Executive Assistant
Lloyd no longer drinks tea at work - maximising efficiencies and all that, tea takes too long to make apparently. Now, the day starts with a cup of strong black coffee (strength – 4 beans, nothing less is acceptable). show more...
Likes: Being part of a fully-functioning successful team. Used to like lazy weekends and drinking many variations of Bourbon whiskey ...now he's a hands-on dad and well, life is somewhat different.
Dislikes: When things occasionally don't go to plan, rain, salads and the 'woke' generation ...oh and when Oriana cries (he dies a little inside)!
Dreams of: Keeping the fitness levels up (sitting at a desk all day is bad for this) and owning a Caribbean island.
Michael Merritt
Engineering & Maintenance
Electric music-loving Michael is our most talented technician in the kitchen ...his chicken bake and lasagne are edible (...just kidding they are divine ...please, please keep feeding us!). show more...
As well as being a committed charity fundraiser, Michael also finds time to bowl for Ireland (but is actually a proud Scotsman).
He's young enough to keep up with everyone on the team and old enough to complain about "youngsters".
Michael Tierney
Warehouse & Distribution
Michael spends his days delivering here, there and everywhere in the South.
Molly Speers
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Molly is our incontinence nurse (after all, why stop for toilet breaks when we can wear diapers instead?!). show more...
Likes: Strictly Come Dancing and chocolate.
Dislikes: Juggling all her children’s social and sporting activities.
Stephen Patterson
Warehouse & Distribution
A long-standing member of the team, nothing gets past Stephen, with his eye for detail and his knowledge of customer ordering habits.
Terri Shields
Credit Controller
Terri is super-organised and suffers no fools (beware, this feisty credit controller [or the girl in accounts as she’s affectionately known by the Agri team] doesn’t come with a remote) but, she’ll be the first to greet you with a great big smile. show more...
A minimalist at heart, Terri’s desk is always immaculate (puts the rest of us to shame) and so are her nails …shabby nails are a no-no …and if she hasn’t got new nail art to show us every fortnight, something is definitely wrong!
Likes: WKD daiquiris, her dog Sophie, and being toasty warm. Also thinks you can’t beat a big bag of salted popcorn (yummy) or garlic stuffed olives to nibble on (wait ...does Tim know this?!).
Dislikes: Spiders, slow drivers and her fiancé’s drooling dog!! Also doesn’t like when Lloyd squeaks the pink horn!
Tim Hughes
Managing Director
Based in Antrim and having been with the company since he founded it over 30 years ago, Tim craves for as little hassle as possible with everyone else doing the work. show more...
He works hard to ensure no-one forgets to put the coffee in the cupboard and that any staff who have garlic at lunchtime are made to sit in the warehouse.
Tom Aughey
Accounts Office Manager
Tom is our in-house Acrobat – he mainly juggles his day and balances the books. show more...
Members of a men’s shed are known as ‘Shedders’.
For anyone who doesn't know ...a Men’s Shed is any community-based, non-commercial organisation which is open to all men where the primary activity is the provision of a safe, friendly and inclusive environment where the men are able to gather and/or work on meaningful projects at their own pace, in their own time and in the company of other men and where the primary objective is to advance the health and well- being of the participating men.
Likes: Fine food and a good red wine, in that order.
Dislikes: Diets, empty red wine bottles, being awake.
Dreams of: A long, happy healthy retirement pottering about with his shedders, although he'll have to wait a few years!!