AN inventor and entrepreneur with a mind for design who revolutionised the cordless vacuum cleaner is still at home with pencil and paper. 

Nick Grey, founder of Gtech in Worcester, has been fascinated by design in all its many forms and facets for as long as he can remember - at least since the age of three - and his passion shows no sign of dimming.

Whether it is the seam on the sleeve of a woolly jumper or a broken toy rescued and reassembled, the way things are put together, and the way, they work has proved for him an enduring source of inspiration. 

Worcester News: INSPIRED: Nick Grey, founder of Gtech, retained a lifelong interest in how things work INSPIRED: Nick Grey, founder of Gtech, retained a lifelong interest in how things work (Image: Gtech (used with permission))

"I have said it in the past - I feel machines talk to me," he said.

It is a measure of the success of Gtech's global brand that it is still a big part of Worcester and continues to invent and invest in the city with new appliances in the pipeline. The aim is to spread the business into overseas territories and increase awareness globally of Gtech.

He has sold 20 million of his cordless power sweepers, expanded into garden power tools and featured twice on the Sunday Times Rich list with £120 million in the bank. After the company's success, Gtech became a sponsor of Brentford FC and the club's Gtech Community Stadium.

Worcester News: INFLUENCE: Gtech sponsors Brentford FC, the team playing at the Gtech Community Stadium INFLUENCE: Gtech sponsors Brentford FC, the team playing at the Gtech Community Stadium (Image: Gtech)

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Born in Bromsgrove, Mr Grey is one of seven children and would enjoy fixing his older siblings' bashed-up and broken toys rather than receiving new ones. 

Worcester News: CREATIVE: Nick Grey's visions often begin on pencil and paper but from there may come the next big revolutionary Gtech product CREATIVE: Nick Grey's visions often begin on pencil and paper but from there may come the next big revolutionary Gtech product (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

He said he wanted to prove that a cordless vacuum cleaner could perform as well as a corded one 'if you design them right' - and that was proved to be the case.

The 54-year-old who lives near Droitwich has been based with his team at Gtech in Brindley Road, Warndon, Worcester since 2016.

He says the company was responsible for 'pioneering the move from corded to cordless vacuum cleaners'.

"I still spend as much time as I can on design," said Mr Grey, who has a sketch pad laid out ready in case inspiration strikes him.

The father-of-four, who says he thoroughly enjoys his work, also loves to spend time with his family, adding: "I'm lucky like that."

He also described his immense pride in his staff - Gtech employs up to 175 people - and he said they provided 'great customer service and great products'.

His ambition now is to perfect the existing designs and make a vacuum cleaner that lasts 20 years in the same way as an electric kettle.

His dad has been a source of inspiration, always finding time to encourage him and to improve what he had made.

Despite pulling out of A-level maths because he found it 'very impractical', and leaving university because he found it 'uninspiring', this did not hold him back.

After working a few odd jobs, he saw an opening for a lab technician at a local vacuum company, which is where it all started.

Mr Grey started off as a lab technician at Vax but worked his way up to a design engineer, to senior design engineer, to design manager, to managing the engineering department in the space of 12 years.

In 2001 he worked in a garage, bringing in four extra pairs of hands to help him design a mini fan, and the world’s first cordless power sweeper. 

Three of these original four employees still work at Gtech now: Andy Kent, Andrew Boddy, and Leo Smith. A pivotal moment came in 2012 with the AirRAM.

Mr Grey was pleased with the rapid success and growth of Gtech. But he noticed his 80-year-old mother was still using a dustpan and brush to clean her stairs, in fear of dropping her heavy vacuum or tripping over its cables.  So, he and his team began designing a handheld vacuum cleaner, which despite being cordless, was still powerful and durable.

He started off with a fan from a 1950s vacuum cleaner, which was less likely to block up than newer cordless vacuums, and a powerful brush bar to remove stubborn dirt.

After realising it could run for 40 minutes, which was ample time for the stairs alone, Mr Grey added a long handle to it, and the concept for the AirRAM was born.