The new kid on the block: Nordic Chem Matthew Cooper, UK General Manager for Nordic Chem, has been part of the cleaning and hygiene industry for nearly two decades. His mission is to drive change across the industry, keeping individuals’ physical and mental wellbeing at the forefront of the minds of business leaders. Hi Matt, lovely to have you with us. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your career so far? Hi, great to be here! I’ve been in the industry for 15 years now. I started out as a contract service engineer for some big brands such as Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsburys and Tesco, in and around Central London. After a few years, I couldn’t help but get the bug for progression, more specifically to get my name out there and begin driving change within the cleaning industry. Throughout those first few years, I regularly saw things that didn’t sit right with me and I wanted nothing more than to make a difference. 8 | First Impressions
From here, I kept pushing and making my way up the ladder. I went to work for another company where I looked after the likes of Wembley Stadium and Arsenal which was fantastic! My next step saw me become a senior engineer working with the likes of Costa and Whitbread and finally, I received the opportunity to set up and run a service team for another national company. Unfortunately, I became quite seriously ill in 2019 and this time of uncertainty put everything into perspective for me. Once I had recovered, I went back to a business I worked for previously, managing contracts such as The Shard, The Gherkin and Google HQ. This move led
me to my big break; a friend of a friend introduced me to Nordic Chem, and I never looked back. In 2019 through to 2020, just as the pandemic was creeping into our news bulletins, I set up on my own with the sole rights to Nordic Chem and headed up the company in the UK.
