As we celebrate 50 Years of Innovation at Power Adhesives, we are sitting down and talking with some of our brilliant team as part of our People of Power Adhesives Series.
Next up is Gary Temme, IT Manager & Quality Representative. Gary joined Power Adhesives in 2011, starting in the warehouse before moving into IT and quality leadership. During our chat, we discuss his journey through the business, how his role has evolved, and the impact of QA and ESG on the company’s growth and culture.
How did your journey with Power Adhesives begin?
I joined in 2011 as a Warehouse Operative, starting with Perpetual Inventory checks before moving into Goods Inwards and wider warehouse duties. In 2017, I transitioned into IT, turning a long-standing interest in computers into a career. With the company’s support, I achieved Microsoft certification and stepped into the IT Manager role.
Alongside IT, I also lead our Quality Management System. Since taking on that responsibility, we’ve consolidated ISO 9001:2015, achieved ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, and secured an EcoVadis Silver rating, progress that reflects the company’s commitment to doing things properly.
What made you choose to stay with the company for so long?
Opportunity and trust. Power Adhesives backed me to make a big career move from Warehouse to IT and gave me the space to grow. I’ve worked across departments, led meaningful projects, and seen the direct impact of improvements, whether that’s a faster network or a cleaner audit. The culture rewards ownership and continuous improvement; if you see a better way, you’re encouraged to make it happen.
How has your role evolved over the years?
I’ve gone from counting pallets to architecting systems. Today, I oversee IT infrastructure and security, including servers, networking, backups, identity, and endpoint management, ensuring our teams can work securely anywhere. I also manage data, systems, and change, moving us to structured SharePoint sites, rolling out HubSpot with governance, and reducing “shadow IT.”
Alongside IT, I lead quality management, guiding ISO 9001:2015 compliance, audits, process discipline, and corrective actions. I also work with our ESG Committee to provide data-driven sustainability oversight. Starting in the warehouse gave me insight into how quality, safety, and sustainability happen in practice, and I’m proud of our progress.
How have your experiences shaped the way you approach Power Adhesives’ QA and ESG programs?
Starting in the warehouse taught me that quality and sustainability live in the details, how we book stock, label items, segregate waste, or complete line checks. In IT, I learned that governance and data are non-negotiable. I bring those two perspectives together in QA and ESG by designing systems and processes for auditability, with clear ownership, simple evidence trails, and version-controlled documents.
I make sure everything is practical and usable, because procedures that sit on a shelf aren’t worth much, if something doesn’t work for the team at three o’clock on a busy Tuesday, we rewrite it. I also use data to drive decisions, creating dashboards for NC trends, training completion, and environmental metrics so we can focus on what really moves the needle.
What impact has QA and ESG had within the business, during your time at Power Adhesives?
The impact has been significant. We’ve strengthened certifications and governance, consolidating ISO 9001:2015 and aligning more closely with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. External recognition has followed, with a Silver EcoVadis rating across environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and procurement.
Waste management has improved through a multi-chamber baler and better segregation, pushing us towards 90% recyclability. Safety standards have risen with forklift initiatives, first-aid training, and clear PPE rules. Cleaner data from structured SharePoint sites, controlled folder creation, and secure backups has boosted efficiency.
Most importantly, non-conformances are now seen as opportunities for improvement, encouraging greater ownership and ideas.
Where do you see Power Adhesives in the next 5–10 years?
In the next decade, I see quality staying simple and embedded through right-first-time behaviours, light-touch problem-solving, and an audit-ready mindset. Our bigger focus will be ESG, with product LCAs for key ranges, reduction plans for energy, waste, and transport miles, higher recycled content in packaging, near-zero landfill waste, and greater use of renewable electricity.
On the IT side, we’ll remain secure-by-design and cloud-first, with zero-trust access, MFA, automated backups, and structured data governance. Cleaner integrations and robust cyber defences will underpin measurable ESG progress, faster evidence on demand, and a resilient digital backbone that makes doing the right thing easy.
Keep your eye out for more People of Power Adhesives blogs in the future as we continue our 50 Years of Innovation celebrations.
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