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WOOLLARD & Henry, based at Stoneywood Park in Dyce, celebrated the firm’s 150th anniversary recently.
The company’s roots are very much in the paper sector, manufacturing and servicing Dandy Rolls for paper mills. The Dandy Roll is the device that inserts watermarks in paper. The company was a family business until 2002, when the employees bought out the previous owners, in what was one of the early adopters of the employee ownership model in Scotland.
Since the employee buyout the company has grown significantly from 22 employees to 130 and turnover growing from less than £1m to averaging approximately £10m per annum. The decline in the paper industry led the company to embark on an ambitious diversification strategy, looking at international markets and new products. Woollard and Henry now has a world-wide reputation for quality equipment and solutions across multiple sectors including energy, waste water, glass/basalt fibre and now aerospace, delivering everything from small components to installing full production lines.
he company has twice won the Queens Award for International Trade and now has offices and workshops in Gdansk, Frankfurt and continues to grow its presence internationally having recently acquired two other businesses, WH Lipex in Munich and a 50% stake in PAMA beside Dresden.
Managing Director, Fred Bowden has been at the helm of the company since 2002. He says, “ The company’s success and longevity can be attributed to the commitment and the tenacity of the workforce. We’ve weathered several recessions, market disruption and of course, the impact of the global pandemic. We’re still here and still growing.”
Operations Director Kenny Harris has been with Woollard & Henry since 1989. He says, “To be honest, the move to employee ownership was a survival tactic for us. We didn’t want the company to close. I don’t believe we would be where we are today had this been a conventional business. Every employee has a stake in this company; we all have an interest in making sure our customers are happy. “
Stuart Robertson, Sales Director, has been with the company most of his career and seen a lot of changes. “We’ve had to change as a business. As we diversified, employees had to adapt and learn new skills and ways of working. I travel across the world visiting customers and it is immensely rewarding to hear how our products and service are so highly thought of.”
More than 80% of the company’s shareholding is held in an Employee Trust, with the remainder held directly by employees.
At Woollard & Henry all employees have the opportunity to elect an employee director to the company’s board. There are two elected directors: Elaine Malone, Finance and Manager and Matthias Ulrich, (Design Engineering).
Scott Daniels is an elected employee trustee on the Trust Board. He says, “Employees are at the heart of how we function at Woollard & Henry. My role as Trustee is to ensure that the company operates always in the best interests of the employees, being a successful business whilst investing in staff and being a great place to work.”
Employees and partners marked the occasion with a dinner dance at the Village Hotel in Kingswells, attended by local and international employees. A great night was had by all.
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