“I like being out on the road and no two days are the same. One day I could find myself in a spray booth helping a painter to solve an issue and the next day I could be at a distributor giving advice to a retail customer.”

Like Protec Territory Managers around the country, James has plenty of technical experience. Along with completing a spray painting apprenticeship, he has also gathered experience in the industrial coatings sector and as a technical specialist for a competitor paint brand, before joining Protec in 2012.

“I really enjoy the industry and I was seeking a new challenge so the Protec role seemed perfect. It’s a very good work environment and the team we have in SA is very supportive. The role is very hands-on and we’re not afraid to go and get our hands dirty to support a customer, whether that’s helping out with a colour matching query, ensuring the right application techniques are being used or promoting all our new products. With the new Carmaster and Paraglaze primers and clearcoats we’ve seen a 100% strike rate – no complaints and plenty of repeat business. It’s changing the mindset some people have of Protec – they know that the quality is still there, they can see the performance of these new products and they can get all that at a very reasonable price. With more new products to come, the Protec brand is certainly on a growth curve – I reckon we have a very busy couple of years ahead of us!”