Glazerite’s Michelle Wright Reaches 10th Anniversary

Michelle Wright, Head of Group Marketing at Glazerite UK Group and regular PiGs event attendee, discusses reaching her 10th anniversary at the company.

This year marks my 10-year anniversary at The Glazerite UK Group, a milestone that’s made me pause and reflect on where my marketing journey began and the path it’s since taken. With my son halfway through his apprenticeship and my daughter preparing for her GCSEs, conversations about career choices and future plans have been a big topic both at work and at home.

When I left school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started a two-week work placement at Pilz Automation Technology, helping with database administration. Those two weeks turned into years, and a real love for marketing. Pilz was a small company, which meant I got involved in everything: PR, advertising, exhibitions, customer training, and direct marketing. I completed a couple of NVQ’s during my apprenticeship and was then keen to continue with learning through my CIM qualifications. That early, all-round exposure was the perfect foundation for my career.

Entering the steel industry

From there, I moved into the fast-paced food service sector and further strengthened my training with web development, before stepping into the corporate world of steel with Corus Tubes, later Tata Steel Europe. Steel was a highly structured, global environment, with layers of process, approvals, and formalities and often those ‘meetings for meetings’.

I experienced a huge amount of change whilst working there, having joined a team of three, just as the business was being rebranded from British Steel to Corus. Not long after that, Corus was bought and rebranded to Tata Steel (effectively red to blue!) in 2007.

A major achievement during this period was convincing my manager that we should bring our art working processes inhouse. I put a business case together, ordered a Mac (which I’ve never looked back from), added Creative Suite and secured funding for a Graphic Design course.

This brought our marketing team huge agency savings, particularly when we started to go through some challenging times for marketing budgets. It meant we could continue to deliver internal communications alongside external marketing, which is critical for every business, whatever the challenges.

The period that followed was an exciting time as Tata Steel’s Global Marketing operations were centralised and we moved to specialisms. We were working on some great branding projects and initiatives, with one of the best agencies in the world (Mcann), which I loved being part of.

What has stayed with me most from this time, however, was the friendships forged in our fantastic team that are still going strong today. My role evolved into brand management for Tata Steel Europe, but after a couple of years I was starting to miss getting my teeth into marketing.

Reaching Glazerite

When I joined Glazerite in 2015, the contrast couldn’t have been greater. Fenestration gave me the ability to sign off and run marketing projects that were really making a difference to our business. I also began to work more closely with customers, and got more hands-on with every element of marketing again. I could actually see the direct results of the work I was undertaking

and loved the variety I was getting, where every day brings something different. That return to broad, end-to-end marketing, combined with the discipline and brand management I’d gained at a large blue-chip company enabled me to develop the role in the areas I really thrive in.

Love for the people of glazing

What I really love about this industry though is the people. I remember thinking “wow” when I first joined…and in the best possible way. It’s unlike any other sector I’ve worked in; people care, they back each other, and they rally behind causes that matter.

And I always try to get to two or three glazing events a year if the location works for me, and I can honestly say there’s never been one that hasn’t been worthwhile.

Whether it’s catching up with familiar faces or meeting someone completely new, the conversations are always valuable. It’s such a brilliant networking opportunity and honestly, I’m not sure you’d find this same sense of connection and support in any other industry.

I’m also always overwhelmed by the support for Kelly’s Heroes, the mental health charity I’m a trustee for, from fundraising events to industry sponsorships. That generosity and sense of community is something truly special.

Ten years at Glazerite is more than a work anniversary, it’s a celebration of finding an industry that inspires you, challenges you, and surrounds you with people who genuinely care.

For more information about Glazerite UK Group, visit: High-Quality Windows, Doors, Conservatories & Blinds | Glazerite