Phil Durham, a Photofab legend retires
The word retirement conjures up images of relaxation, travel, rising when you want, and spending more time doing exactly what you and your partner chose to do.
Phil Durham has recently retired from Photofab after 34 years. He had similar intentions: looking forward to cruises, coastal walks, and planning his itinerary. Unfortunately, Phil’s plans had to be put on the backburner after picking up Covid as his retirement began, and when he recovered, his first granddaughter arrived. The 64-year-old had a busier week than any of the weeks he worked at Photofab from Easter 1988.
When you get Phil talking about his life at Photofab, you do not hear any comments such as “it was better in my day” or references to “the good old days”. Phil, who started as a toolmaker, is enthusiastic about modern-day machinery and working conditions.
“Early on, under different owners, it was dark and dangerous,” Phil explained. “Machinery was very outdated, in poor repair. A lot of the machinery was kept together with packaging tape and we had to carry open buckets of acid.
“I don’t really miss the old days. We did more decorative work in those days including prestigious jobs for Norman Ackroyd, who was elected to the Royal Academy of Art and highly regarded. The current owners look at the bigger picture and put a lot more effort into getting the right work and full order books.”
Phil’s father was a long-term power worker. He told his son he needed a trade and because he liked making things, Phil started as a toolmaker at ABB before joining Photofab, adapting to different work roles in the 80s because of the recession. A previous owner gave him the job to run engineering, which he did for over 20 years.
“I personally appreciated the way the directors of the company, and in particular Paul Rea over the last few years, facilitated my transition from engineering and subcontract manager,” he added. “Working, assisting the new manager, then part-time working and transitioning into early retirement. In addition, the amount of kind wishes I received in the last week, and in particular on the retirement function, was very much appreciated and humbling for so many people to be present.”
Although Phil will be taking on a different life in retirement, images of him with his feet up watching Dickinson’s Real Deal on the TV are a long way from reality. Phil and his wife Wendy are looking to rekindle their love of cruise holidays and he is also looking at volunteering with the National Trust if he can tear himself away from his new grandchild!
The mention of Phil to Photofab Managing Director Neil Shorten conjures up fond memories: “He was an inspiration to both Paul Rea and I when we started as spotty teenagers. They don’t make them like Phil anymore.”
