About

James Day

Sales Director

James began working in the glazing industry straight out of university in 2014 and has worked with a number of different systems. With co-founders Dan and Anne-Celine, James is privileged to now specialise in one fantastic and award-winning sliding door product, Ultraline.

James’ key role in the business is processing architectural drawings and customers’ requirements in order to quote projects. Following on from that, James spends a lot of time meeting clients demonstrating the product at our showroom and ensuring it is a good fit for the project.

‘Where I deal with the project from drawing stage, the best part of the job for me is seeing the professional photos of the project come through from our photographer Martin. At that point, with the beautiful photos in front of you, I can really see that we have absolutely nailed it and played our part in making the project a great one.’

When he’s not scaling drawings and designing sliding doors, James can be found in the kitchen cooking or enjoying a holiday with friends or family.

Dan Smith

Operations Director

Having worked in glazing and construction his entire working career, Dan founded Minima Sliding with co-founders James and Anne-Celine with a vision of combining the best slimline sliding door on the market with the best customer experience. Dan drives the business to achieve this by constantly improving processes and ensuring every project is surveyed, ordered and installed correctly.

Dan is ultimately responsible for all areas of the business but his most important role is conducting the final check on all surveys before ordering, to ensure a seamless installation.

‘Having experienced a stressful extension myself at home, the best part of the job for me is receiving messages from our clients on install day saying how happy they are with the doors – it makes it all worth it.’

Dan’s time outside work is spent playing tennis, swimming, skiing, seeing friends and spending time with his family.

Andy Wakeman

Business Development Manager

Andy’s first role within the glazing industry was in 2003. Having worked in sales for over 20 years, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our sales and customer service process. Andy is passionate about the customer journey and ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction.

Andy’s remit is to work with architects and builders to help the business grow as well as spreading the Minima brand far and wide. Alongside this Andy also hosts events, CPD’s and provides plenty of updates and insights into our business through social media.

‘From the moment I met the team, it was clear that I was in the right place. The company’s ideas and my own are a perfect match. From my point of view, it is vital that you have total belief in the product and the service that you are offering. With my first-hand experience of surveys and installations with the team, I have the pleasure of being first contact for customer enquiries and customer reviews.’

Andy is an avid Crystal Palace fan and enjoys reading.

Donna Trahar

Sales

Having established a long career in Account Management, Customer Service and Sales across different industries, Donna is passionate about providing nothing less than an exceptional level of customer service.

‘The most important thing for me when I deal with companies outside of work is their customer service, which is why I pride myself on ensuring that our customers experience the best customer service possible.

For me the best part about working at Minima is how we do things properly and that everyone is passionate about their role within the company.’

In her own time, Donna enjoys paddling in her kayak (when the sun’s out!), enjoying meals out, and spending time with friends and family.

Georgia Smith

Sales

Having established a long career in sales and customer service across various industries, Georgia brings a wealth of experience to Minima. She ensures that the Minima customer experience is as smooth as possible, with solid and reliable communication throughout the process.

‘When I deal with companies in my personal life, I really rate good customer service. So I take real pride in ensuring that our customers get that same level of service from us. I love how our customers so often say how impressed they are with our entire customer service ethos.’

In her spare time, Georgia will be relaxing with friends, travelling or spending as much time as possible with her grandchildren.

Esther Jenner

Accounts Manager

Having worked in estate agency, lettings, construction, hospitality, glazing and consultancy, Esther brings a wealth of experience to the team ensuring everything is done correctly from a finance and accounts point of view.

‘I love being part of the Minima team because I get to play my own small part in seeing these amazing projects come together!’

When Esther’s not spending time with her family, you’ll find her busy running her local pub!

David Beckwith

Installation Manager

Having installed all types of glazing products for over 20 years, David began specialising in the Ultraline sliding door product around 2016 and has perfected his skills ever since. This huge experience David brings to the team has enabled Minima Sliding to grow on solid foundations.

David’s roles include carrying out pre-survey visits, where our customers might need more guidance on how to prepare the door openings ready for a full site survey. Sometimes pre-survey visits are not needed and David first attends site to carry out the full site survey for manufacture. Once David has surveyed and ordered the doors, he then manages the installation team to ensure the project is completed in accordance with our high standards.

‘What I love about what we do at Minima is how we do things properly. Having worked in construction and glazing for many years now, I know how important it is to not cut corners and to ensure everything is done safely. I particularly enjoy our crane installations, which always wow our customers.’

An avid Formula 1 fan, David is sure to never miss a Grand Prix!

Jack Goldup

Assistant Installation Manager

Jack’s varied career has seen him carrying out fireplace installations, operating heavy plant and machinery as well as installing different glazing systems. Jack brought his attention to detail and desire to get the job done right to all of these positions.

With this mix of technical expertise, installation experience with robots and cranes as well as excellent customer service skills, Jack is the perfect fit as part of the installation management team. He knows what our installers need on site to complete an installation safely and successfully and at the same time is conscious of always delivering for our customers.

‘As a person, I’m all about the little details, which is why I like the structured and professional way we go about everything we do at Minima, whether it’s surveys or installations.’

In his spare time, as a grade 8 drummer, Jack can be found at his drum kit or enjoying driving anything with an engine, whether it be on 4 wheels or 2!

Harry Beckwith

Installation Team Leader

Having worked in the glazing industry installing Ultraline sliding doors since 2017, Harry is an expert in all things Ultraline. Working alongside his installation team, Harry’s attention to detail ensures all aspects of the installation are completed perfectly.

‘My favourite part of the job is hearing the wows from our customers at the end of the day. I like that each project is unique in its own way.’

When he’s not installing sliding doors, Harry can be found with his friends, in the gym, listening to music or working on his side project, developing a gym equipment brand.

Liam Grey

Installation Engineer

As well as having a wealth of experience from working in glazing and construction since 2014, you can guarantee Liam will install your sliding doors with a smile. He prides himself on his friendliness and making sure our customers are 100% happy not only with their new doors, but also the installation experience.

‘For me, the best part of working at Minima is how nice our customers are to work with and how happy they are with us when we’ve installed their doors. It’s such a privilege to work on and be a part of these properties.’

A self-confessed movie and music buff, when not installing sliding doors, Liam can be found watching a film or working on carpentry projects in the garden.

Toby Collis

Installation Engineer

Having previously worked in the varied sectors of landscaping and banking, Toby arrived and quickly made himself a hard-working key member of the team. Alongside the rest of the team, Toby ensures sealing, compribanding and fixing are all done correctly.

‘I quickly found myself part of a great team spirit very different from anywhere I had worked before. The best part of the job for me is the sense of satisfaction we all get when we stand back at the end of the day and look at the finished installations, which are often in amazing houses.’

In his own time, when not with friends and family, Toby is either gaming or lifting weights in the gym.

Dean Whittet

Installation Engineer

Dean’s career so far has included steel fabrication for a company in London where he designed, surveyed and installed steel beam frameworks for new buildings, as well as a long spell working in specialist plant hire, calibrating laser measurement equipment.

“Minima is a great company to work for with a great looking product, finished off with a smooth installation process. Every day presents different challenges so never a dull moment and always satisfying.”

In his time away from work, Dean enjoys DJ-ing, playing the drums, enjoying a round of golf or simply spending time at home with his family.