Drywite celebrates six decades in Cradley

Drywite, of The House of Lee, Park Lane, Cradley, is still run by the grandson of founder Harold Lee.

Harold and his son Malcolm started the company, which was originally known as Pioneer Potato Company in West Bromwich.

Current managing director Kelvin Lee, who joined the company in 1972, said: "My grandfather and father started the business together. My grandfather had been injured while serving in the Royal navy in the First World War and couldn't return to his original line of work as an electrical engineer and started trading in milk, eggs and potatoes.

"When my father left school in 1932 he took a job in a fish and chip shop.

"This led the family to experiment with selling peeled potatoes and my father enroled on a chemistry course and with the help of his lecturer came up with a preservative to keep potatoes white when peeled and this led to manufacturing of the product. The company has grown from that.

The company's first premises was in Spon Lane, Smethwick, in 1933. The name changed to Drywite in 1935 after they decided to switch track to producing and selling the preservative. The name comes from it keeping potatoes both dry and white.

On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 Harold bought out another businessman, who had originally financed the firm, and Drywite bought new premises in Witton Lane, Hill Top, West Bromwich.

"During the war the company made munitions for the war effort but still as a sideline kept the Drywite preservative going. After the war they got back to manufacturing it in bulk again.

"They also expanded and for a time ran a transport business as well. By 1959 they had outgrown the premises and found our current site which was then part of an old brickworks. We have been at this site ever since.

"A new office block was built at the front of the factory which was called the House of Lee and we moved in on April 1, 1960."

Sadly Harold died the same year, shortly after the move to Cradley.

Drywite still makes its potato preservative and also moved into making non-brewed condiment, a malt vinegar substitute, which it supplies to fish and chip shops at the 25,000 sq ft factory where 34 are employed.

Drywite, which has turnover of £4 million annually, has continued to invest over the years and is always looking to develop new products.

It also supplies fresh produce wash to vegetable processing companies selling washed and dried vegetables and in small bottles to catering organisations, hospitals and industrial canteens.

"We process around 25 tonnes a month of Drywite which amount to 300 tonnes a year.

"We have an export distributor in Germany we have been working with since the 1960s and we export to most parts of Europe.

"We exhibited recently at Berlin and picked up a lot of interest and at an exhibition in Chicago last year picked up new interest in the US market," said 66-year-old Kelvin, who has been MD since 1988 when he took over from his father who became chairman, which post he held until his death in 1993.

Kelvin's sister Briar Wilkinson worked as the company's sales director until her death two years ago.

"She started our annual competition for the best young fish fryer of the year in 1995 in memory of our father. The Malcolm Lee Trophy has been presented at the Fish and Chip Awards in London each year since," said Kelvin who is very proud of his workforce, many of whom are long serving.

"Several employees have worked for over the years for 40 years. Our workforce is very loyal and seven of the team now have worked here for 25 years or more.

"Our stores manager Nigel Perry has been with us since 1983 and his mother Sheila joined the company on the move to Cradley and her husband Peter joined as office manager in 1963 and became our finance director."