LDC Top 50 2024
Alex Latham
Managing Director
Latham’s Security Doorsets
When he was 17, Alex Latham started importing a standardised range of steel doors and selling them on eBay. “It was a genuine bedroom startup,” he says. “No-one took the business model seriously at first. I had to educate the market that there was an alternative to bespoke doors. I was the ‘college dropout’ with something to prove.”
Dudley-based Latham’s Security Doors is now one of the UK’s largest suppliers of steel security doors, selling 30,000 products a year via its website and resellers including Travis Perkins and B&Q. “I get my kicks from empowering my workforce and mentoring other business owners.”
Morale is the most important thing. I actually call myself a morale director, not a managing director.”
Q&A
What’s your proudest business moment?
Last year, I invested £3.5m in machinery. By purchasing the machinery outright and introducing a team specifically focussed on R&D, I have eliminated the pressure to get an ROI and I’ve created a culture of innovation. You get the best out of people when you give them space to ‘play’. The machinery also gives us a Plan B if anything goes wrong with our supply chain; we now have the ability to manufacture in-house, if required.
What advice would you share with other entrepreneurs?
Morale is the most important thing. I actually call myself a morale director, not a managing director. When I arrive at work, my first question is always: “Is everyone in and is everyone happy?” Ultimately, happy employees want to be at work, they enjoy their job, and they perform at their best.
What’s your personal ambition?
To start with, it was to build a big profitable business at all costs. As I’ve grown up and had a family, it has changed. Now I want to have a good work life balance and spend my time helping other entrepreneurs. I’m only 33 but I’ve felt the teething pains growing a business from 0-100 staff so I have lessons to share.
