Dudley foundry firm plans for an extra shift

Joint managing director of family-run Thomas Dudley, Martin Dudley, said the company was currently taking on nine new people in management to gear up for the move.

"We are getting busier and busier and it looks like by November we may have to put an extra shift on to keep up," said Mr Dudley.

He said the new managers, including a foundry manager, needed to be trained up ready for then.

"We are not taking on any new shop floor staff immediately, but if we are still as busy as we think we are going to be then we will be recruiting and taking on double figures," added Mr Dudley.

People interested in the management posts can find full details on the company's website www.thomasdudley.co.uk or contact human resources manager Laura Smith on 0121 557 5411.

The company in Birmingham New Road has just invested £60,000 to create a new quality suite.

Mr Dudley said the old facilities had been outdated and the new laboratory and offices had been equipped with new measuring equipment.

Customer services manager Lorraine Dale, who has just marked 40 years service with the company, was invited to perform the official opening on August 29.

"We have been investing in plant, equipment and people and our latest investment was in improving quality. We have re-arranged office space to create the new suite.

"When customers now come in we have got a first class suite for them to see what we do," explained Mr Dudley.

The next development will be the opening of a new visitor suite which will enable the company to bring in visiting parties, particularly from local schools.

"The visitor suite will be off our meeting rooms with a walkway where people can view the foundry from a safe distance. We hope to have it open within the next three months," added Mr Dudley.

The company, which also has a plastics moulding division, has been manufacturing iron castings since 1920.

It hopes to encourage more youngsters to think about careers in traditional businesses and engineering and is backing a new scheme to give schoolchildren information on potential future local employers,called Careers in the Classroom.

The company is also currently recruiting a graduate to support its manufacturing team in the foundry. The ideal applicant will have a degree in manufacturing or engineering and an interest in lean manufacturing.

The role would be to act as facilitator for a drive towards world class using lean manufacturing concepts.

Thomas Dudley, which also makes bathroom products and won the Black Country Chamber of Commerce's business of the year award last year, employs more than 250 people at its Birmingham New Road head office site and some 350 people across all of its group companies.

The family-owned business, which now has a turnover of more than £30 million, was established in 1920 and by the 1950s was was producing a wide range of products including cast iron WC cisterns.

As the foundry has expanded the company has invested heavily in mechanised plant and installed seven automated moulding lines between 1966 and 1988.

In 2010 the first Disamatic sand moulding line was installed in the foundry at a cost of £2.5m and a further £4.7m was invested in a second Disamatic line in 2012.