When others are thinking of retirement the former hotel maintenance manager has switched careers by launching a new business venture supplying cleaning and hygiene products.

ICE-HOCKEY player Tim Davies hopes to capitalise on his competitive streak to take him to the top of the business league.

Tim, who plays for Peterborough Predators, admits he is fiercely competitive and doesn’t like losing. He is confident that these qualities will reap dividends as he sets up his new business for Europe’s leading supplier of cleaning and hygiene products, Chemex International.

 With his business generating an annual turnover of £400,000 and an extensive client base built on repeat business, seasoned Chemex franchisee Charles Williams’ Cheshire-based business continues to beat the recession.

A former farmer, Charles joined the Chemex network in 1989 when profit margins in the agricultural industry nosedived and he was unable to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for his family. Eager to re-train and to continue working for himself, Charles decided to explore franchising.

Chemex franchisee of six years Malcolm Dixon has never looked back since acquiring his franchise. Previously employed in the corporate world, Malcolm lived a life that consisted of a 7am flight on a Monday to Frankfurt where he would be lucky if he returned home on a Thursday night.

After being made redundant, Malcolm seized the opportunity to find something that he would enjoy, doing a job where he could fully reap the benefits of his own labour.

John Heslop started his career as a mining engineering apprentice in the early 70s and worked his way up to senior position with British Coal by the 1980s. Hard work and study had given him a bright future in an industry that by then was going nowhere.

Chris chose Chemex because he saw the diverse range of quality products as giving him a greater opportunity to break into the business to business sector - with every business being a potential customer. It may come as no surprise to learn that Chris Lunn comes from a sales background within the business to business environment in engineering. He is confident that his previous experience has helped him a great deal in starting so well with Chemex.

Paul Torrent joined Chemex as franchisee for the Middlesex area in November 2004. He took over an area that was nominally vacant, although there was some existing turnover on the patch that became his when he started.