WEC Group Ltd celebrated the success of its Training Academy apprentices at the annual Apprentice of the Year Awards on 3rd December. The awards evening held at Whitehall Hotel, Darwen is designed to recognise the success of our welding/fabrication, CNC machining and new business administration apprentices.
A WEC Group Engineering and fabrication apprentice from Darwen, Lancashire has won Gold at the WorldSkills UK Competition final in Construction MetalWork. 24 year old Chris Taylor, who just started the fifth year of his apprenticeship at WEC Group, also managed to snatch the Bronze Medal, scoring higher than previous gold medallists.
Our apprentices have fabricated a brand new viewing platform which has been installed at the Blackburn Rovers Training Ground in Brockhall Village. This project, which has been taken on by Kris Mercer and our 1st year apprentices, is yet another testament of the outstanding quality of the workmanship that comes out of our Engineering & Welding Training Academy.
A stunning statue created by our apprentices in tribute to Lancashire artist LS Lowry is set to become a seaside visitor attraction when it is officially unveiled on Friday. The work celebrates Lowry's famously painted matchstick man and his dog, included in several of his works, and will be located at Knott End on the Lancashire coast.
Five of our talented Training Academy apprentices are celebrating after making it through to the national final of the prestigious 2015 WorldSkills UK Construction MetalWork competition. First year apprentice, 17 year-old Harry Chadwick stunned everyone after being announced as the winner of the tough regional heat overall as well as scoring second highest in the country.
WEC Group's recent partnership with MTL Advanced has created a new major force in the Offshore and Oil & Gas sector. WEC funded a deal in February this year to acquire South Yorkshire-based MTL, and both companies will be co-exhibiting at this years' Offshore Europe Trade Show in Aberdeen to showcase their increased capabilities.
Metal manufacturing specialist MTL Advanced is showing strong signs of recovery three months after a partnership deal with WEC Group which brought the company out of administration. The partnership deal was completed in just three weeks and has created one of the largest laser cutting operations in the UK's fabrication and engineering sector.
WEC Group held its fourth Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Friday 3rd July at Accrington Golf Club. The golf day was open to all customers, suppliers, staff and Commercial Associates of the WEC Group and 76 players took part. Together, we raised a total of £3,000 for Nightsafe, a local charity that supports homeless people between the ages of 16-24.
St. Cuthbert's Church in Darwen has had a piece of its history restored thanks to our first year apprentices. After the original weathervane was damaged in a storm, St Cuthbert's Church Wardens, Chris Rugg and Janet Dean approached WEC Group in a bid to repair it.
WEC Group is currently going through a nice spell of growth after investing over £2m in nine new, state-of-the-art machines as a way of strengthening its supply chain. The new machining technology follows £3m of investments to relocate WEC Machining to a 33,000 sq. ft. production facility.
We brought home the trophies for the Manufacturing Excellence Award, the Eureka Award for our unique Employee Benefit Loans Scheme and also the Bright Spark Award, which was won by Production Manager, James Pickles, for making a positive impact in the workplace and for the vital role he plays in the company.
We are pleased to announce that we will once again be exhibiting at the Subcon event on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June at the NEC, Birmingham. You will find us at Stand S443, showcasing a range of our sub-contract manufacturing services including laser cutting, machining and fabrication.
WEC Group has invested another £500,000 in its waterjet operation as the division continues its rapid growth, which brings the total amount invested in WEC Waterjet during its first 18 months of trading to just under £1 million, significantly improving our capabilities.
WEC Group recently invested in a second Fibre Laser machine which has been commissioned at its state-of-the-art laser cutting factory in Darwen, Lancashire. The 3m x 1.5m Fibre laser is a means of expanding the capabilities and services WEC Laser can offer, increasing the division's capacity and allowing the business to meet the requirements for larger, ongoing contracts.
We have funded a partnership deal to acquire the business and certain assets of metal manufacturing specialist MTL Group saving 135 jobs. The administrators of MTL Group chose the deal we offered as the best option to bring the company out of administration.
We are thrilled to announce that our Training Academy has been shortlisted for "Skills Provider of the Year" and our new waterjet division, WECJet, has made the cut in the "New Business" and "Engineering Business" of the Year categories!
A six year plan to boost business in Blackburn with Darwen, creating 2,700 jobs, has been unveiled. WEC Group is getting behind the Hive's "Plan for Prosperity" which intends to secure greater prospects for the Borough over the next six years.
Chuka Umunna MP, Shadow Business Secretary and Will Straw, Labour's candidate for Rossendale and Darwen visited WEC Group Ltd yesterday to discuss Labour's business policy with staff and Commercial Director Wayne Wild.