Alistair Houghton meets ROD TUCKER, chief executive of Haulfryn Group

Tucker remains confident that his industry will keep growing in the long-term and says Haulfryn aims to move into new parts of the country.

“We look for a reasonably-sized park then have satellites around it,” he said. “We have been looking at the Yorkshire coast.

“We haven’t got any definite plans because in the last year or so there have been parks coming available in areas where we already operate.”

Haulfryn has homes built to its designs by manufacturers around the country, and has its own design team to make sure homes are equipped with the latest technology and are as up-to-date as possible in design terms

“It’s great to see how homes are developing,” said Tucker. “We’ve got one unit with a blower in the ceiling so you can come out of a shower and dry yourself without using a towel.”

Tucker lives in Windsor but spends much of his time visiting Haulfryn’s parks around the UK, as well as its head office just outside Chester’s city walls.

TUCKER has spent all his working life in the leisure industry. He joined Gowrings Leisure in 1973 to sell caravans and holiday homes, and having worked his way up through that business, joined Racecourse Marina in 1981 as operations director, responsible for a 200-berth marina and boat sales.

In 1989 he became operations director at Gowrings plc, running its residential parks and finance business. In 1995 the group sold that part of its business to Haulfryn.

Tucker joined the Haulfryn board in 1997 and became chief executive last year.

He has won a 25-year service award from the National Caravan Council (NCC), of which he will become vice-president this year.

Tucker’s role at the NCC sees him meeting industry colleagues from around the UK and lobbying MPs and ministers about legislation affecting the industry.

He said: “It’s a great industry to be in with a lot of friendly people. We can discuss problems with each other.”

Tucker’s boat sales role saw him sell to celebrities including Michael Caine, Ernie Wise and “really nice guy” Rolf Harris.

He says several celebrities have also owned Haulfryn properties, including William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street.

“He had a unit at The Warren for many years and he’s been a great ambassador for us,” said Tucker.

“We have a lot of business people from the North Wales or Liverpool area as well.

“It’s amazing how often you talk to people and they’ll say ‘I was at The Warren staying with a friend’”.

alistairhoughton