A fond farewell was made to Debbie Jarmey, the well-known and respected founder and managing director of Mayfield at the Great Holiday Home Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate this week.
Debbie, 61, originally from Leeds, bows out after a highly distinguished 35-year career and her achievements were celebrated with colleagues in the industry on her final day at the helm of Mayfield, on Wednesday (13th September).
Having founded Mayfield in Poole, Dorset in 1989 during a period of economic recession, Debbie’s company started out as pioneers in a niche market, by specialising in manufacturing steps for caravans.
Since then, Debbie and her team have innovated, establishing the company as a nationwide supplier of decking and sundeck accessories for static caravans and other holiday homes, with a £10m turnover and 23 staff.
Manufactured using the latest in green uPVC technology, Mayfield’s decking products are 100 per cent recyclable.
Reflecting on her career, Debbie said: “This is the third recession Mayfield has operated in, but the beauty of this industry is that if the economy is buoyant, people buy holiday homes to own, and if the economy isn’t so good, people rent caravans to go on family holidays, so it’s a lucky industry to be in.”
Debbie paid tribute to the support she enjoyed at the start of Mayfield’s journey from the former bosses of caravan manufacturers Atlas, Willerby and Tudor, Terry Ansell, Alan Hughes and the late Chris Nixon, saying: “They made sure I was invited to events, and they were really nice and helpful. I was a woman in a very male dominated industry: women are more respected now.”
In 1990, Mayfield was one of the first non-caravan manufacturers to feature at The Lawns (now known as the Great Holiday Home Show). Congratulating Debbie on her retirement, David Ritchie, who has run The Lawns Show for 20 years, said: “Debbie, you have done a great job, building a very successful business. You’ve had a great career and I’d like to congratulate you on everything you have achieved.”
Debbie is succeeded by Martin Emery as managing director of Mayfield, which is under new ownership having been bought by Epwin Group in December 2022.
For the first time in its 40-year history, the Great Holiday Home Show is being held at the Great Yorkshire Showground. The Show is open to the trade until Thursday 14th September 2023.
The Great Holiday Home Show is the UK’s biggest outdoor holiday home event, bringing industry leaders together for the first time in four years where 21 of the major holiday home, motorhome and caravan manufacturers, including household names, ABI, Carnaby, Swift and Willerby, have launched their latest models.
