Former Home Secretary and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside, David Blunkett, visited the Sheffield works of heavy engineering concern, DavyMarkham, last week.
Sheffield born, bred and educated, and Leader of the City Council for seven years, David Blunkett was keen to see how a local company is competing successfully in international markets, recently gaining contracts valued in excess of £20 million and recruiting extra staff to cope with the workload. He was met by DavyMarkham’s MD, Kevin Parkin, who has been largely instrumental in the company’s turnaround in recent years, the firm’s Chairman, Ian Forbes, and Garry Wilson of Yorkshire-based Endless LLP, which backed last year’s management buyout.
David Blunkett was joined by Doug Patterson, Regional Officer for Unite the Union, and they discussed with Kevin Parkin and colleagues the value of management working positively with union members. Late last year, the company’s Joint Shop Stewards Committee contacted the union magazine to explain how it was cooperating with DavyMarkham management, in order to implement changes in working procedures and improve production efficiency, for the future benefit of all employees. Production Director, John Watson, and JSSC Chairman, Sam Wragg, were on hand to discuss this approach with the visitors and explain how it is contributing toward a full order book.
Young representatives from DavyMarkham’s newly reinstated apprenticeship scheme also spoke with David Blunkett, who was accompanied on his factory visit by Steve Hambleton for the Sheffield RNIB and Alan Lyons of Creative Sheffield, the UK’s first city development company.
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