Globe trotting Hartlepudlian marries spreadsheets and photography

A Hartlepool man who has travelled the world for more than twenty years has returned to his home town to set up two new business.

Paul Mason has lived in France and Thailand, among other locations, but has returned to the region to establish “Figures and Models Limited” - an umbrella for his spreadsheet advisory and photograph businesses.

The two very different propositions are housed in UK Steel Enterprise’s Innovation Centre on the Queens Meadow Business Park.

Paul, who has previously worked in the international drinks industry, explained: “The Figures and Models name came to me because it applies to both businesses

“I was working up to 70 hours a week plus all the travelling and decided, at the age of 53, that I wanted to be in one place devoting all that time to my own business

“There is no doubt that travelling has enabled me to build up invaluable skills and experience but there comes a time when you want to settle. I was born in Hartlepool and have family, including five brothers and sisters here, so I have watched the town develop over the years and it was my first choice.”

Paul has worked with Microsoft Excel for more than 20 years and trained with experts who are the best in the world.

“It is a fact that most businesses use only about 10% of the Excel programme whether it’s for financial systems or data analysis.

“I have been able to save companies of all sizes hours of time by creating and writing the systems then training staff to use Excel to its full capacity. In one case, an employee was spending an entire day on a task that I reduced down to five seconds.

“The savings can be massive and all businesses are having to look carefully at every aspect of their operations. I am already working with local and UK companies and talking to a number of breweries who are interested because of my specific knowledge of the drinks industry.

“I was so impressed with UK Steel Enterprise’s Innovation Centre that I waited until they had the right size of workshop and office available. The rent is very affordable, it has every facility that I need from high speed broadband to parking and is a great place to bring clients for both my businesses.

“I now have a training room, a photographic studio and an office here and have invested more than £10,000 in equipment to get started. I’m confident there’s great potential for both businesses and I’m delighted to be back home.”

Lorraine Smith of UK Steel Enterprise, the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary, added: “We are pleased that Paul is so impressed with our Centre and that we have been able to give him the space he needs to get both his businesses up-and-running.”