WHICH COMPANIES ARE DRIVING GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S ECONOMY

When the editor of Business & Innovation Magazine asked me to write a piece on which companies are driving Gloucestershire’s economy – both large and small – I was pushed to make a choice.

Here in Gloucestershire where I edited newspapers for 12 years, there is a great array of diverse businesses that both make you proud and drive our economy.

My choices have several key threads running through them, and in particular innovation, skills, leadership and heritage.

Building contractors EG Carter & Co Ltd of Gloucester are one of our smaller companies with a great heritage and leadership.

They were founded by Edward George Carter in 1945. He was a man of great principles – a master craftsman – who was horrified if anyone criticised his workmanship, or service.

And legend has it that he would rip up an invoice and refuse to accept payment should anyone have the temerity to question his standards.

I asked Michael Carter, 63, now chairman of the company how they have been able to maintain their core values in such a volatile industry as we have seen recently with the collapse of building companies like Midas.

“I think it’s mainly because of the family involvement. Family members running the brand provides that consistency that allows us to maintain that level of commitment.

“Without wishing to appear boastful, we don’t have debt and we don’t have borrowing. We are the custodians of the business and remain truly independent to make the right choices for our company.”

Not a bit Michael. He is an understated man who has always supported apprentices and has people on his board who started out as management trainees.

The fourth generation are now maturing within the business: Joshua 30, Sam, 28 and Gavin Carter, 27.

And in chairman Michael’s words: “We endeavour to hold fast to our principles and set a vision to reach our 100th anniversary in 2045 with the ownership and our values intact.”

Last year EG Carter turned over £80 million with 200 employees, a firm whose name in the county is synonymous with quality service.

At the other end of the scale is Renishaw, Gloucestershire’s largest private company with 2,460 employees in the county and just over 5,000 in total worldwide.

But Renishaw’s values are very much deep rooted like those of EG Carter.

Renishaw’s watchword is innovation and it’s a world leader in specialist engineering and manufacturing.

Something like 95 per cent of its production is exported and profits for the last year were £139.4 million.

At the age of 82, its chairman Sir David McMurtry is still very enthusiastic and working four days a week from its headquarters at Wotton-under-Edge.

The business started in the home of his friend and joint founder John Deer — the garage was their workshop and the back office was the dining room table.

Sir David and John met at Rolls Royce and decided to set up their own company. Renishaw Electrical was then born on April 4, 1973.

Sir David had worked on the Olympus engines for Concorde and invented the touch trigger measuring probe which is now used worldwide.

Renishaw is a company set just below public consciousness so most of the public do not know them.

They don’t have a consumer brand but Renishaw’s innovation and engineering skills actually power a lot of world-leading products.

The same is true for many of our engineering and specialist manufacturing companies in Gloucestershire where these skills are embedded in the county’s DNA.

Remember it was from Gloucestershire that Sir Frank Whittle developed the first jet engine and it was from here that it first flew.

This is the age of the engineer and there are few companies in Gloucestershire more representative of that talent than Renishaw— led by a former apprentice machinist and fitter.

Like Michael Carter at EG Carter, Sir David is an understated man. But he is a true leader who cares about his people.

Some years ago, I attended a Stroud District Council meeting where the subject of housing for young people was being discussed. Unbeknown to me, he was there too as he was concerned about his talented young engineers having affordable homes.

Renishaw believes in young people. The company took on its first apprentice in 1979 and this year is recruiting 80 of them.

Moog at Tewkesbury, like Renishaw, is a world leader.

It is their servo valves – the founding product of the company – which are used by the world’s aerospace engine manufacturers like Rolls Royce.

Like Renishaw, this is a real powerhouse of a company which is making huge investment into Tewkesbury where it has operated for more than 5O years.

It is currently investing £40 million into a new aerospace manufacturing and design facility which will open next year.

The American headquarters of Moog in New York State has huge confidence in the engineering expertise of the Tewkesbury workforce to make this sort of investment.

There are similarities here with Renishaw in that Moog is a great employer and many of the staff stay there all their working lives.

And like Renishaw, their name is very much under the radar but their products keep the world’s aircraft flying.

I hope my choice of companies in a small way illustrates the strength of skills among the Gloucestershire workforce.

Yes, this is a predominantly rural county, but specialist engineering and manufacturing is still the biggest sector driving its economy.

Our challenge must be to keep developing these skills among our young people to encourage them to stay in Gloucestershire.