MD's 60 years at West Bromwich firm
The boss of a Black Country manufacturing company is celebrating more than 60 years at the firm.
Richard Hill is 82 years old and has steered West Bromwich's National Spring Company through three recessions.
The managing director paid tribute to his staff and added that he had stayed on 17 years beyond retirement age to pass on his knowledge and experience to new generations.
Mr Hill joined the Grafton Road company in 1949 and worked on the shop floor after being invited by his father-in-law, company founder George Griffiths, to learn the ropes at the springs and pressings manufacturer.
The company has been around since 1928 and still has families of staff working there, a tradition that seems to be dying out an other factories.
Mr Hill's three children, Susan, Alison and Alan, are all shareholders, and Alan, aged 58, worked for the company before retraining as a teacher 20 years ago.
The company has survived the recessions of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and is still going strong despite the current downturn.
He said: "I came here to see whether I wanted to take on running it and I was given 12 months to decide.
"My wife Beryl has supported me throughout, I owe a great deal to her.
"I am also fortunate to work with so many marvellous people. The staff here always put others first."
He has no intention of leaving when the knowledge he had built up could still be passed on to new recruits.
He said: "I have stayed on so long because I am interested in the work.
"A lot of people throughout the country have been made redundant, that means a younger generation has lost the chance to learn from their expertise.
"We need young people to be able to benefit from that knowledge and keep it going."
His grandson, the company's 32-year-old commercial manager, also called Richard Hill, said: "He is very happy to still be working.
"There are very few people who could say they spent 60 years with their company."
In 2000, Mr Hill and his wife celebrated their golden wedding during a surprise party laid on by staff and friends at the factory.
The 28 staff at the firm have clubbed together to buy Mr Hill a crown green bowls set to commemorate the latest occasion.
