“I’m very proud of what I’ve established and what the staff have achieved, not just this year, but every year.”

Donald J Sidebottom is rightly a very proud – and humble – man. Sitting in the boardroom of Glasdon House in Blackpool, he is reflecting on the business he established 66 years ago from his dad’s windmill in Staining, the “birthplace of Glasdon”. 

Born and bred in Blackpool, a “very proud Sandgrown’un”, Donald originally trained to be an architect at the town’s Technology College but decided it wasn’t for him and chose to do something with his hands instead. 

It worked. Over six decades later, the semi-retired entrepreneur now employs 265 people at its resort base, a stones-throw from the M55, has offices in Poulton, France and the USA, a triple BIBAs winner – Global and Business of the Year with Donald collecting the coveted Lancastrian title – and is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the modern world. 

And it all started with a fibre glass moulding for a bathroom manufacturer in Rochdale. 

Donald tells the story with a smile on his face. “Fibre glass was a relatively new project back in the 1950s and businesses were just starting to realise its potential,” he says. “I’d done some moulds for smaller items and then I visited a company called Wonderbath in Rochdale who had designed a tin bath but the lady whose job it was to test the bath, a secretary at the company, said it was too cold on her bottom!” 

“I took the dimensions of the bath, re-moulded it and presented it to the company and the secretary said it was much better. On the back of that, the owner ordered 12 units, I still have the original invoice receipt to this day!”

With that, Glasdon was officially born. The name, a play on fibre glass and “Don” quickly became established in the north of England and before long, Donald was taking on more staff and moving out of the windmill to offices on Talbot Road and finally to its current home on Preston New Road. 

But Donald had a job on his hands to convince people that fibre glass was the future. 

“People were sceptical of fibre glass,” he admits, “this was new and people associated plastic with cheap products from overseas so I had to sell it to them by showing how durable and long-lasting it could be.”

“Businesses were used to more traditional ways of building but items like timber and steel had a pretty short shelf life. Plastic was long-lasting and could be shaped into pretty much anything the customer needed.”

As Glasdon grew during the 1970s,
so did its products. From bins to building cladding and shelters for smokers, the production line was a hive of activity with dozens of designers being recruited locally and the business expanding its reach to the UK and mainland Europe as exports began to grow. 

On the back of its success, Donald was only too keen to reward his staff and give something back to the community where he grew up. “Without the staff, we wouldn’t have the success we have had,” says Donald. “I’m very proud of the fact we have a lot of staff here today who came into the Company and stayed.  Many have racked up 30 or 40 years at Glasdon and in the modern era that is unheard of. I’m a strong believer if you treat your staff right, pay them well and give them good benefits, they will give it back with loyalty.”

Charity is also important to the business. The Donald J Sidebottom Charitable Programme has been established for decades and gives hundreds of thousands to local community associations and charities every year. This year is no different with staff supporting the Blue Skies Hospital Fund at Blackpool Victoria by taking part in the annual Dragonboat Race, as well as fundraising for Breast Cancer UK and Movember for men’s mental health.

“When I was young I was a member of Blackpool Boy’s Club and it had a huge impact on my life, this is why I decided Glasdon should give something back to the community,” says Donald. “It’s important to the staff and to the business to support local projects and our CSR gives staff a buzz and that is very important.”

As Glasdon continues its family values well into its seventh decade of business, it continues to grow with products now being used in over 100 countries and an increase in exports. Donald jokes that he has staff who go abroad and send him pictures of bins, shelters and bollards from all four corners of the world. 

Its success at last year’s BIBAs came as a surprise to Donald, especially his honour at receiving Lancastrian of the Year. 

“I never expected it and couldn’t believe it when I was told. To already have won two awards was amazing but to top it off with that honour was incredible and something that came as a complete shock,” he says. “It just goes to show that if you have an idea and determination you can achieve great things.”