Some careers are a straight line. James Humphrey’s has been more like one of the motorsport circuits he loves. Full of corners, climbs, and the occasional thing you never saw coming. This October marks 29 years since he walked through the door at Alimak, and the story of how a young engineer with a passion for engines became one of our most respected Industrial division managers says a lot about James.
A career that started with a “what if”
It was October 1997. Alimak in the UK was still a small, family-feel business. Just the one brand, just the factory. James had originally set his heart on motorsport, studying motor vehicle engineering and engine technology, working his way through a national diploma and into a higher national diploma. But watching friends with full degrees struggle to find work, he made a practical call: put the CV out and look for a job while studying.
Two interviews. One felt “a little bit boring.” The other, Alimak, felt full of possibilities. He joined as a Technical Services Engineer on the 6th of October, and he never looked back. Early on, his technical manager Adrian Bolton backed him to keep studying part-time, through night school, and in 2000 James earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering, all while doing the day job.
That day job taught him something he still carries: his first major project was the Royal Opera House in London, designing interfaces, landing doors, and arrangement drawings. Then he went out into the field to install what he’d drawn. “If you can’t fit it, you didn’t design it very well,” he laughs. It’s the kind of lesson you only learn with a toolbox in your hands.
Growing with the company
From there, the journey kept building. Industrial coordinator in 2002, working alongside project managers on procurement and sub-suppliers. Technical manager for the industrial side. Then technical manager for the whole UK, right as the group began acquiring new brands like Avanti and the Facade Access businesses. James became the go-to “solutions guy,” sent to factories and sites to untangle the trickiest projects.
Then, in 2021, James entered the role as Industrial Division Manager. Since then, the division has grown from roughly £4.5–5 million to £10+ million. But ask James about it and he won’t take the credit:
“I’ve not just developed myself, I’ve developed the business and the team — because it’s not about me. I want to be successful, but not on my own. I want to be successful as a team, as a unit, as a family.”
The kind of leader people talk to
James describes himself as a flexible leader, and the nuance matters to him. “Every human being is different. To get the best out of people, you can’t just have one management style.” He’ll give clear, firm direction when a situation demands it, and keep an open door for everything else.
What he’s proudest of is the trust. “I think I’m one of few senior managers people feel comfortable talking to about anything”. And it runs both ways. He actively invites people to challenge him: “I’m not always right. Don’t do it my way or the highway. Let’s have a discussion.”
His advice to his team is refreshingly simple: if you’ve made a mistake, don’t just bring me the problem, bring me the solution. “Everybody makes mistakes. If you think you know everything, you’re deluded. Every day is a school day.”
The man behind the manager
James work requires full focus and sometimes long hours. He genuinely likes the work, even at home. But there’s a full life around it. He plays squash two or three times a week, tinkers on a kit car in his garage, and still gets out to watch the motorsport that first set him on his path.
His philosophy outside work is as grounded as it is inside: “Live life and love your family. We’re not here very long, most of the time we’re at work. So when you’re not, appreciate the other things.”
When being asked the question of sharing something that his colleagues might not now about him he shares that he has twin daughters born four years apart. Non-identical twins, thanks to IVF, a fact that stops most people mid-sentence.
What keeps him here
Nearly three decades in, what does James value most? The room to grow, and a company that’s learned to look up from the road. “Before, it was a tunnel, you knew your destination and that was it. Now the blinkers are off. We step outside our comfort zones, but we do it with data.”
If there’s one thing he’d want a new colleague to take away, it’s this:
“Never be afraid to admit you’re wrong. Show respect to receive respect. Always be open to new ideas.”
Twenty-nine years, one company, and a whole lot of solved problems later, that openness is exactly why James Humphrey is still climbing.