Wilton Group CEO ’ s high praise for 30 years of staff , clients and suppliers
ENGINEERING
Celebrating - the Wilton leadership team , back from left : Kev Ness , Michael Jorgenson , John Price , Eleanor Robinson , Graham Brynn and Louis Bond . Front from left : Melanie Burgess , Steven Pearson , Bill Scott and Juliet Lawson .
ALL HEROES
Wilton Group CEO ’ s high praise for 30 years of staff , clients and suppliers
As US citizens celebrated American Independence Day back on July 4 , 1994 , Bill Scott and Steve Glenn marked a landmark day of their own . That was the day they launched their new business , Wilton Engineering Services .
Now the business is looking back on three decades of ups and downs , successes and challenges , trials and tribulations as it celebrates its first 30 years .
Wilton has encountered and overcome several recessions , a banking crisis , Brexit and the Covid pandemic during a time that has seen no fewer than eight prime ministers come and go .
Bill and Steve , who had previously worked together on the tools , found themselves discussing the merits of starting a manufacturing business .
As Bill recalls , it was a simple process . Steve would look after the workforce , incorporating manufacturing , health and safety , logistics and maintenance , while Bill would be responsible for winning business , finance , quality , marketing and writing the company ’ s operating manuals and procedures .
“ We went to three well-known high street banks to ask for a loan to support the work in progress and were declined by each of them ,” says Bill , now CEO of Wilton Engineering .
“ They felt our business plan was too aggressive . We were asked to cut our aspirations in half , then re-apply . But we had set the course and were intent on starting sooner rather than later .
“ We both banked with Yorkshire Bank who had a ‘ proper manager ’ who read the plan , thought it was really good – albeit very adventurous – and would support us if we both put our houses up as collateral .”
Bill and Steve duly did just that – and Wilton Engineering was born .
Bill explains : “ We set the course for the next five years and our key objectives were to target projects which were challenging in terms of quality and delivery , to be open and honest , always tell the truth about our capabilities for delivering to a specified date and to invest in the next generation of engineers to create the longevity of talent coming through .”
Their first apprentice was Graham Brynn ,
44 | Tees Business