Spooner Industries Welcomes VIPs
- Published: March 10, 2015
IIKLEY, UK | Spooner Industries, engineer and manufacturer of industrial drying, curing, proving, baking, cooling, and air pollution control equipment, recently welcomed Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne to its facility. Their visit included meeting the directors and a comprehensive tour of the offices and factory floor in the wake of a buoyant order book and continued year-on-year growth for the company. 
One focus of the visit was the Spooner Apprentices. The company says 40% of the workforce (64 employees) started at Spooner Industries either as Apprentices or Graduate Trainees, demonstrating the company’s long-term commitment to training.
The visitors Minster and Chancellor tried out metal folding on the new CNC press, one of the many technological requirements for the manufacture of a Spooner oven. Spooner is currently running day and night shifts in the factory to fulfill existing orders, and the need for expansion both in terms of the workforce and the building footprint is said to be urgent.
The record level of sales and particularly exports that Spooner is enjoying was another topic that interested the visitors. Of the £30m forecasted turnover, 70% of this total will be for export sales to countries including China, Saudi Arabia, and the US, as well as the EU.
The largest single export Spooner has made was to California in 2010. Delivered in three sections, once export packed, each section measured 11.5m long x 5.6m wide x 3.2m high. Teams of engineers are deployed to customer sites worldwide to receive the deliveries, unpack, install, and commission the equipment, ensuring the machinery is set up correctly and that process performance criteria is met. Client machine operator and maintenance personnel training is also delivered during the commissioning and start-up phases of each project.
Commenting on his visit, Cameron says, “Spooner is a great example of the kind of ‘advanced manufacturing’ businesses this Government is trying to get behind.”
Says Spooner managing director Mike Brook, “We were very proud to be selected to showcase our business to the Prime Minster and Chancellor. Their interest and enthusiasm for our ambitions and achievements to date will resonate within the company for a long time to come. Despite our worldwide success, we remain committed to growth, Ilkley, and the local community and hope our much needed expansion can be accommodated here.”
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