A Stone area plumbing business has celebrated 20 years since it was founded, with its owner also marking the milestone by pursuing a childhood ambition to learn to fly.
Complete Plumbing & Tiling was established by Leigh Dancer on 26 September 2006, shortly after he completed nine years of military service.
Leigh started the business in Barnstaple, North Devon, initially specialising in wet rooms, which were still a relatively new idea in the UK at the time.
As the business became established, Leigh says local builders’ merchants and tile showrooms would regularly recommend him to customers looking for someone to install a wet room.
He relocated the business in 2012 and has continued working in the Stone area since then.
Over the past two decades, Leigh has kept the business going through the 2008 financial crisis, the Covid pandemic and more recent pressures caused by the rising cost of living.
He says the standards he brought with him from his time in the Armed Forces have remained part of the way he works, with an emphasis on punctuality, organisation and presentation.
Even details such as the company uniform, which has changed little since 2006, and wearing smart clothing when visiting customers to provide quotations are part of an approach Leigh says has remained consistent throughout the past 20 years.
The anniversary was marked with a specially made Complete Plumbing & Tiling cake celebrating the 20 year milestone.
Leigh said the business would not have reached that point without the support of customers who have used his services and recommended him to others over the years.
Alongside continuing to run Complete Plumbing & Tiling, he is now taking on a very different challenge.
Leigh is currently around a third of the way through training towards his Private Pilot Licence, fulfilling an ambition he has had since childhood.
He said
“Flying has always fascinated me, and the opportunity to finally learn to fly has been incredibly rewarding.”
His training includes both practical flying and studying subjects such as aviation law and navigation.
Leigh said the experience has provided a very different challenge from running his own business, requiring concentration, discipline and a willingness to keep learning.
His ambition does not end with gaining his licence.
In the longer term, he hopes to continue his aviation training and eventually move into flight instruction, giving him the chance to help other people experience flying for themselves.
Leigh said
“For me, it’s about proving that it’s never too late to pursue a childhood dream.
“I’ll continue to run my business, but alongside that, I’m building a completely new chapter in my life, one that, hopefully, will see me not only earning my wings, but one day helping the next generation of pilots earn theirs too.”
For Leigh, the 20th anniversary therefore marks both a chance to look back at what he has built and the start of something new alongside it.
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