Emballator is proud to present Alan Illsley, our Business Development Manager U.K.
Posted 2025-05-05
Alan has been with us for four months and has already made significant contributions to our team. As a Business Development Manager, Alan is tasked with driving growth by identifying new business opportunities, building relationships with potential clients, and developing strategies within the group to expand our market presence. He is currently seeking out new clients within new sectors, especially chemical or food manufacturing, nationwide.
With a strong understanding of the sales process and being proactive, he is pursuing new business opportunities through research, networking, and outreach. Within the role, he has acquired existing accounts, and it is key to develop and maintain relationships with these clients and continue the growth and expand on our service levels. But he also monitors market analysis to identify trends, competitor activities, and potential areas for expansion.
Work starts from his home office and he travels to clients weekly. He is pursuing and logging enquiries and leads in many industry sectors. Now he is also travelling to our Bradford site to report on and continue his training within the UK manufacturing, and that has further enhanced his knowledge within the metal and plastics manufacturing process. Learning the various parts, tools, and lidded options of the products is key to impart information to new clients and sectors. And he enjoys meeting people, whether these are new people within the Emballator group or on the road. He is learning all the time and open to developing in any area that is needed.
“Listening is the best quality,” says Alan. “The client is not always sure on what is needed or the best container for their product so knowledge and product knowledge is a key factor. Knowledge, understanding the process and capabilities on site and production. Working with the team to achieve client expectations.”
Within business, Alan has developed, designed, and brought to the glass industry a few bottles, jars, and glass containers that are now used worldwide.
Alan is hoping to expand our industry sector, and work with the group acquisitions to develop a UK client base and achieving the goals that we have set throughout the year and working as part of a team to achieve this! Key is to listen and learn from your peers, suppliers, and competitors. Keep ahead of the game by reading and attending seminars. Use LinkedIn and other portals to gain an insight into what competition is out there and what they are doing.
Many years ago, Alan’s life was eat, drink, play football, and work was something of a distraction between games. However, he had a career-defining injury which changed his life, and he found the packaging industry. Firstly, in procurement, which enabled him to travel the world to find and source suppliers for cosmetic, chemicals, home fragrance markets amongst others. He then started a role in sales of packaging for all types of containers for many industries.
Alan values society highly. He volunteers almost every Saturday at Cancer Research for 6 to 8 hours. He sorts and hangs clothes and helps with IT sales for Ebay. He loves gardening, DIY projects, walking, and caring for his dog, Ruby. He also look forward to travel more now that his daughters have left home.
Alan considers himself a jack of all trades and master of none.
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