MaltaCEOs 2021 THE ISLAND’S MOST INFLUENTIAL BUSINESS MINDS
position at Forestals. Here, while overseeing sales and shipping, he also spent a year in the UK learning manufacturing techniques, draughtsmanship, store keeping and sales for catering and industrial cooking equipment through a work-study course with Creda International, Hobart Manufacturing, Foster Refrigeration and Bartlett. Paul followed this with roles that not only expanded his manufacturing knowledge, but also sharpened his expertise on business management. Between 1971 and 1980 he worked as Manager at plastic injection and blow moulding factory Model Hobby Ltd; Purchasing and Traffic Manager with Japanese electronics manufacturing company Shin-Shirasuna Malta Ltd; and Manager in the locally formed international TIR road haulage company, Islander Trucking Ltd.
However, Paul’s enduring passion for creativity steered him towards a new career path into his own business, when an unexpected opportunity arose. “Every role I experienced in those early days helped me to learn and grow, but I still wanted to do more creative work,” he recalls. “As it happened, I had been working with a man who had exported cane furniture to France and had gone bankrupt. I was fascinated by the idea and the adventure, so I left Islander Trucking and took on the company – debts and all. We turned it around and our cane sofas can still be found, decades later, in some hotels.” When plastic chairs became more popular than cane furniture, Paul changed direction again. “People began to ask us to make other items, such as kitchens, so we switched to woodworking, often working into the night to meet demand.” And so, Tabbingtons Ltd the ‘traditional woodworking company’ was born, with its name coined by Paul as a fun Anglified play on his own surname, in recognition of the company’s growing popularity in the UK as well as in Malta. Over the near-40 years since, Paul has overseen all the operations of the company, from sales to administration, as well as his team of around 30
If the contractor or carpenter were paying money to have this item in his home, would he accept it with any defects? I doubt it. So, if it’s good for them, it’s good for the client.
258