Finishing - July-August 2022

16 CAREERS
Industry module conducted by OCCA at the
University of Salford.
This route has helped HMG produce a
number of home-grown coating chemists over
the years including Darren James, who is a
previous recipient of the British Coatings
Federation Student of the Year award. This
award is presented to the student who, in the
opinion of the tutors of the Coatings Training
Institute, has consistently demonstrated the
highest level of understanding and achieved
outstanding scores in examinations and
practical work when completing their training
modules.
“I was over the moon! Being up against
people who had much more chemistry
experience behind them, I didn’t think I was
going to win. The help and guidance of my
colleagues at HMG really helped with my
development. I now work on some very
innovative projects for our customers and it’s a
very proud feeling when you see products you
developed being used in the real world to
solve customers’ problems.” said Darren.
Another success story of HMG’s investment
in staff and training is, HR Assistant Melissa
Strowbridge. Melissa has recently completed
her Degree Apprenticeship at the University of
Salford and has also talked at the Houses of
Parliament about the importance of
apprenticeships. Melissa added, “The benefits
of doing the degree via an apprenticeship
route was that I was able to apply my learning
directly to the workplace. Throughout the
programme I developed both professionally
and personally and I can now bring these skills
into the workplace. I have a fantastic
grounding for the future thanks to the
University of Salford and HMG.”
develop its staff to handle increased customer
demand.
Colourful Career Opportunities
One area HMG has really pushed the
boundaries over the last few years is within
their Advanced Colour Design department.
The success of the department means that
HMG are now looking to further expand its
colour development and formulation team
who are responsible for the companies library
of over 90,000 colour formulations.
The Advanced Colour Design team work
very closely with customers to develop
bespoke colour options and solutions for
customers in a variety of fields including
decorative, automotive, model and hobby.
The team have worked on a number of
high-profile projects including the Jaguar CX-
17 (F-Pace), paint for Aston Marin Racing that
was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, a
unique gold for angel statues at the Parisian
Hotel and Casino in Macau, interior design
palettes for leading decorative brands and the
team even worked on the restoration of
Emerson Fittipaldi's iconic Lotus F1 car along
with many other projects.
Training and Development
“HMG Paints has a long and proud history
of developing our own technical team and we
have some very exciting opportunities
available as our business continues to grow”
commented COO, Steve Crossman. “Having
started myself as an apprentice in the
laboratory I know first hand about the exciting
challenges and opportunities that lie within
HMG Paints. We have a great track record of
nurturing our own talent in-house but also
combining that with attracting experienced
professionals within the coatings industry.”
After various roles in the laboratories
including development chemist and Technical
Director, as COO Steve is now keen for the
next generation of talent to be developed
within HMG. A key facet of this is utilising the
knowledge and experience of existing lab staff
and combining that with training
organisations, courses and guidance provided
by PRA, BCF and OCCA.
The coatings industry and HMG’s broader
appeal can be further strengthened with links
to academic institutions, illustrated recently by
HMG’s participation with the Chemistry in
Varied Products
HMG Paints provide coatings across a
spectrum of industries which creates great
variety in the projects their technical team
work on. Many of the projects are also
innovative within the coatings industry. HMG
were the first paint manufacturer to develop
and commercialise Graphene containing
coatings for a variety of industries, with the
coatings today being used on Commercial
Vehicles across the UK.
On the other end of the development
spectrum, Graduate Apprentice Avese Umar
has recently led the redevelopment of the
company’s artist Oil Colours. The range
originally developed in the 1940’s has been
reformulated to combine traditional
performance with modern and sustainable raw
materials. The range is used by leading artists
including Carl Melegari, Frank Auerbach and
Jake Attree, with artworks that use the range
hanging in galleries across the globe.
If you are interested in a career with HMG
Paints Limited, please contact:
John Fenton
HMG Paints Human Resources Director
jfenton@hmgpaint.com
Finishing - July/August 2022