First employee Gary leads celebrations as Welsh trailer firm marks two major milestones
Ifor Williams Trailers Deeside Celebrating Twenty Years Producing over 200,000 trailers since 2004 Long service employees recognised and presented with hampers for their service. Site Production Manager Rhys Davies with Alan White, Andrew Witton, Steven Underhill, Mark Henderson, Andrew Garrett and Gary Mason
A trailer manufacturer is celebrating two major milestones – the 20th anniversary of its factory in Deeside and making 200,000 trailers there.
To mark the occasion the iconic company presented food and drink hampers to six members of staff who’ve worked at IWT Deeside for two decades, including production operative Gary Mason, the site’s very first employee.
The factory on Deeside Industrial Park opened in 2004 as part of an expansion by Ifor Williams Trailers, Europe’s biggest trailer maker, who needed to create more production capacity.
Four years later it became the first factory to manufacture the market leading MK2 version of the company’s famous horsebox.
Since then the firm has continued to grow and now employs more than 650 people.
The company also has sites in Corwen and Cynwyd in Denbighshire and Sandycroft and Sealand in Flintshire.
As well as the horsebox range, the firm makes livestock trailers and a wide range of other trailers for every conceivable use.
Its products include everything from flatbeds and tippers to car transporters and box vans, from catering units to mobile business trailers and medical clinics.
They are sold through a network of more than 100 distributors across the UK, most of Europe and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
The 20th anniversary celebration was a proud moment for Gary Mason, 61, a farmer’s son from Chester.
He joined IWT Deeside after deciding to leave agriculture for a more secure occupation, remembers being featured in the local press as the site’s first worker.
He said: “It’s been good working here, the staff are good.
“I was well aware of the trailers the company produced before I joined and over the years at this site I have probably touched every single one that’s gone out the door!
“It’s been a pleasure working here, I enjoy coming to work.”
Andy Witton, 42, from Ewloe, joined the firm in July, 2004, and he said he was proud to be part of a brand which is known throughout the world..
He said: “The people who work here are a fantastic bunch. There is a terrific team spirit and we all socialise together away from work, such as going to Christmas parties.
“It really makes a difference if you all get on well.”
Alan White, 58, from Birkenhead, said the last 20 years at the site had gone really quickly.
He said: “It’s a busy place, it’s fast-paced, but it’s enjoyable We do stuff together outside work and many of us have similar interests. There’s a real team spirit.
“The firm has looked after me and I have always done my best for them.”
Steve Underhill, 40, from Saltney, was another of the six members of staff recognised for their loyalty and work at the firm.
Steve said: ““There’s always a lot going on, and I have been involved in a few different projects, so that’s helped massively to keep things interesting.
“All the staff get on so well, we’re a good bunch, it’s a bit like a family.”
Another long-server is Andy Garrett, 50, from Flint, who said: “Security-wise it has been great for me and my family, so I owe them a lot.
“And the lads are good fun, there’s great teamwork.
“So it’s just a thank-you from me, to the company, to my colleagues, for all their support.”
Forklift truck driver Mark Henderson, 62, from the Wirral, said: “Looking back, it doesn’t feel like 20 years.
“When you go somewhere abroad you see one of our trailers, and you’re thinking ‘I helped build that one!’”
Site production manager Rhys Davies paid tribute to the six long-serving workers, as well as all the staff who have paid a part in the IWT Deeside success story.
He said: “The success of the Deeside site is a demonstration of the growth of the business and the part it has played in the company’s story over the last 65 years.
“All the workers being celebrated today have played a key part in that story.
“I am in my 22nd year as well, so that shows we can provide our staff a job for life, and it is a career path for many as well.
“The Deeside site has most definitely been crucial to the growth of the business.
“When I first started we only had two sites.
“The Deeside site then came along and that came with product development as well.
“What the Deeside site has given us is really good communication with the roads network.
“We are all very proud of the success of the site and everybody gets to play a part in it.”
