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.

For many people the idea of forming long-lasting relationships focused on delivering great support may seem like too much effort. Luckily, Stephen and Margaret Crinks are not like many people. They have always understood the benefits of hard work and delivering great customer service and this is one of the reasons why they have reached the 2007 finals of the bfa’s prestigious Franchisee of the Year awards.

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.

“It’s hard work, but I love it!” says Catherine Tang, Chemex International franchisee, and former legal secretary, “It certainly beats sitting in an office day after day!” Catherine confesses that the only thing she was worried about when she signed up for her van based franchise was whether she would actually manage to drive the vehicle. “I was really excited about the franchise, and was looking forward to getting started, but up until then I’d only driven a small car,” she recalls. “But once I got behind the wheel, I thought ‘Of course I can do this!’ and I’ve not looked back since!”