A UK tale of survival, growth and ambition

June 4th, 2009 by admin | Filed under Daily News, Recession.

financialnews1 Despite the doom and gloom that has surrounded UK industry for the last couple of years, there is no small amount of success stories, that we should all take pride in and possibly learn from.

One story that is worthy of regard is at of Andrew Cook, owner of the largest manufactures of steel fittings in the UK, Sheffield Based William Cook and company. Mr. Cook has worked at the plant all his life which was established by his great grandfather in 1881. When Andrew took over the reigns of the company in 1981, the company was relatively small and stable. However in a combination of hunger for growth, drive and considerable ambition. Andrew Cook succeeded in building an industrial giant with turnovers reaching £130 million, and employing more than three thousand people within a decade.

Yet as Andrew Cook had the foresight and the ability to build a huge business, he also had the vision to see the current economic downturn coming and the cataclysmic effect that it would have on the steel industry. Today his company has “slimmed down” to turning over £70 million, with 650 employees in the company’s three plants, two in Sheffield and one in Leeds.

Forever looking forward, the William Cook Company have invested £5 million in automation in their plants during the past four years in areas such as installation of automated machines.

Mr. Cook is renowned within the UK business community for being outspoken, and had harsh words to say on the UK government’s recent decision to award a significantly massive £7 billion to a foreign manufacturing consortium led by Hitachi of Japan
The lesson to be learned from Andrew Cook is that UK industry still has a major place on the global stage, that sentiment for the past can be dangerous, and companies that look forward and invest wisely will always be find their niche.