Factory opens doors for National Manufacturing Day ahead of £3m investment plans

Morland UK, which manufactures and distributes on a global level, welcomed visitors from colleges, government and national industry bodies as part of the Make UK National Manufacturing Day to its sites on Buttington Cross Enterprise Park.

The visitors enjoyed a tour of the three factory sites where they learned of the success of the family owned business since it was founded in 1972 and the recruitment and career opportunities across the business.

Morland UK – which manufactures timber based products including panels and profiles for the leisure and caravan industry, luxury yachts and anyone converting vans into campers – turned over £26 million last year.

The business is part of the Interior Products Group which also includes Newmor – a wall coverings manufacturer – which is also based in Welshpool.

The business, which currently employs 125 people, has recruited a number of staff members over the last eight weeks and are looking to recruit at least another 10 across all areas of the business including the factory, sales, accounts, IT and others from apprenticeships to graduate opportunities and those looking for a change in their career as well as entry and mid level production roles.

James Morris, managing director of Morland and of The IP Group – whose grandfather launched the IP Group in 1967 – said: “Our five-year plan includes an investment of £3 million across our three factories which will include solar panels and more automation equipment.

“Investment such as this means that the composition of the job offering changes and means we are offering more highly skilled jobs. Everyone has the opportunity here to scale up what they do. The investment means the factory workforce can move from manual skilled to higher level skilled value added jobs.

“It’s certainly an exciting time here. Like any business we are experiencing changes in the supply chain and with recruitment but the question is ‘what are we going to do about it?’

“The answer is to engage with the community, look after our staff and keep investing.”

Russell George MS, member of the Welsh of the Welsh Parliament for Montgomeryshire who attended the event, said: “It’s a brilliant opportunity for young people to see for themselves the opportunity right here in Mid Wales.

“I would like to thank Morland for opening their doors on National Manufacturing Day to celebrate the fantastic manufacturing we have here in Wales.”

Richard Allen, sales and marketing director at Morland, said it was the first time they had held the event in partnership with Make UK.

“It is a great opportunity to champion manufacturing here in Wales. We are genuinely influencing the future of people who start their careers here and we are very proud of our technical excellence. There is so much scope for people here and the family feel is in everything we do which means our staff stay with us for many years.

“We have staff who travel from across the border from Shropshire and as far as Wrexham as well to work for us. However many people still seem to consider us as a hidden secret – we have so many exciting opportunities here and we want people to be able to work and enjoy the exciting opportunity we have here on their own doorstep.”

Steve Cass, from Newtown College which is part of the NPTC Group of Colleges, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for apprentices to see the huge opportunities for engineering right here in Welshpool.

“Many young people are struggling for placements at the moment so opportunities like Morland are offering are exceptional. If I was going into manufacturing then this is most certainly the place I would want to come to.”

Councillor Carol Robinson, representing Powys County Council and Welshpool Town Council, added: “This is absolutely amazing. We want to keep our wonderful young people here and for them to take opportunities like this.”

Andy Ellis, from Mid Wales Manufacturing Group, said: “Employers and employees may not have the contacts they need to find the right people or the right job so we take the right job opportunities like here at Morland and take them to the right colleges and universities.”

Make UK is working with the Government and companies including Morland and will be circulating the job opportunities to every jobcentre across the UK and into schools.

The Manufacturer’s Organisation is proud to demonstrate the value of a manufacturing apprenticeship as an alternative route post school/college, and also promote these opportunities to women and other minority groups, helping to attract new talent for businesses looking to develop their future skills pipeline.

Anybody interested in applying for any positions at Morland UK should email rachel.jones@ipgroup.one or visit https://www.morlanduk.com/careers