Chris Brown joined Colson Valves in February 2025 as Operations Director and stepped up to Managing Director within two months. With nearly 25 years of leadership experience across manufacturing, he came to Colson with a clear brief: strengthen the operational foundations and prepare the business for growth.
Tell us about your background and how you came to Colson?
I’m a mechanical engineer by training – that’s what I studied at university, so we’re talking nearly 30 years ago now. I’ve spent most of my career in operational and leadership roles in manufacturing, and I came to Colson initially as Operations Director. Within a couple of months, they asked me to take on the MD role as well, which I was delighted to do.
Like many long-established manufacturing businesses, there were opportunities to modernise some of the systems and processes and improve visibility across the operation. That’s exactly the sort of challenge I’ve always enjoyed, so it felt like the right place for me.
What did you find when you arrived, and what have been the biggest achievements since?
In the 18 months since joining, we’ve moved factories to our purpose-designed facility at Bessemer Park, completed a full rebrand, launched a new website, built a new leadership team and introduced meaningful KPIs and operational performance dashboards. We hit our first quarter’s budget whilst we were in the middle of relocating the business, which I’m incredibly proud of. One of our biggest achievements has been transforming our on-time delivery performance, reaching 95% on-time delivery last year despite the significant challenge of relocating the business. Delivering on our promises to customers remains one of our core strengths and one of the highest priorities for the whole team.
Bringing the right leadership team together has probably been the most significant thing, though. Finance, engineering, compliance, and sales are now covered by experienced people who are a genuine cultural fit. I’m going away for two weeks this summer and I’m completely comfortable leaving the business in the team’s hands. That’s probably the biggest compliment I can pay the people we’ve built around us.
What’s your strategy for the business?
It’s straightforward, really: get good at what everybody else is terrible at. A constant criticism of the oil and gas valve industry is on-time delivery performance. So that’s where we’ve focused first.
Beyond that, it’s about knowing exactly where we’re competitive and going hard after that work. Our strength lies in technically demanding valve applications manufactured from stainless steel, duplex, super duplex and other exotic alloys, particularly in the ½” to 2″ range, where a fast, technically credible response makes the difference. On certain projects, we’ve quoted, won the order, manufactured, and shipped valves before some of our competitors had even submitted their quote. That’s what we’re building toward as standard.
The next stage is growth – new geographies, new sectors, reducing our reliance on a single market. That’s where more of my energy is going now that the operational foundations are in place.
Oil and gas is a notoriously complex market to sell into. How do you approach that?
It really is. We can be three or four tiers down the supply chain from the end operator, which adds complexity, and then there’s the accreditation and approval process — it’s lengthy, it’s costly, and you have to go through it just to get to the point of being allowed to bid. We have a Shell audit coming up later this year, which will assess us against the full weight of their supplier requirements. That’s a significant undertaking, but it’s the kind of thing that opens doors.
The other reality of oil and gas is that it’s relationship-driven in a way that hasn’t changed much in decades. Knowing who’s working on what project, who’s bidding for what, which tier-two contractor is talking to which operator – that intelligence is crucial, and it comes from years of building a network. James, our Sales Director, has built an outstanding network across the industry. He often talks about ‘joining the dots’, and that’s exactly what successful business development in this sector is about.
What’s the most rewarding part of the role?
Seeing the difference it makes. I’ve been in management for 25 years, and what I enjoy most now is being able to draw on all of that experience – and put it to work somewhere it counts.
This is the most enjoyable role I’ve had. There’s something about being part of a business with real potential, a strong team around you, and the backing to actually do what needs doing, that makes a real difference to how you work. I can concentrate on the things that matter rather than being pulled in every direction at once
And the most challenging?
The unpredictability of oil and gas. We can be a fraction of one per cent of the cost of a major offshore platform, which means we have very little influence over when an order actually lands. Major operators aren’t going to accelerate billion-pound projects because a valve manufacturer has capacity. You have to stay close to your customers, stay visible, and be ready to move fast when the moment comes.
That’s also why diversification matters. When oil and gas is going well, everything’s great and there’s a natural reluctance to venture into unfamiliar territory. But you have to build that resilience before you need it, not after.
How would you describe the culture at Colson – to someone thinking of joining, or a new customer coming through the door?
Colson has a great family feel, I’d like people to describe us as approachable, ambitious and supportive. We work hard, but we genuinely care about each other and about doing the right thing for our customers. People here understand the difference they’re making and where we’re trying to take the business. That’s important to me, we’re never satisfied with standing still. However well we’re performing today, we’re always looking for ways to improve tomorrow.
So it’s a friendly environment, but one where we work hard and have respect for each other. Customers are a priority, and so is making sure people feel happy and engaged. I want everyone to go home at the end of the day feeling like they’ve made a difference – understanding where we’re going and what we’re trying to achieve, and feeling part of that.
The honest answer, though, is that the best people to ask are the ones who work here. I’d hope they’d say we’re a great place to work, but they’re the people whose opinion really matters.
If you’d like to find out more contact the Colson Valves team, we’re always happy to help!