TPT September 2009

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September 2009 21 ›
Industry News
MAY 1959 saw the official opening of the new East Kilbride
factory of JH Carruthers, now Konecranes UK. At that time, the
company manufactured pumps and cranes, but by 1967 pumps
were discontinued.
More than 400 people were employed at the factory, building up
to 100 overhead cranes a year, but today, modern computer aided
techniques in design and manufacturing mean that fewer people
are required to maintain higher levels of production. However, the
company has been increasing both its capacity and its employee
numbers over the past decade, with an average of 100 people
involved in supplying more than 300 cranes a year to the UK and
overseas markets.
From 1996 to 2007, 25% of the factory space was used for
warehousing. The decision was taken to reclaim the space to enable
further modernisation and expansion to take place. Managing director
Gordon Adie has been the driving force behind the expansion since
he took the job in 1992.
Mr Adie, whose father also worked for the firm before him, not
only has responsibility for Konecranes UK’s operations, but
within the Konecranes global group he coordinates many of the
worldwide manufacturing and sales facilities.
Speaking of the company’s continuing success and growth since
it moved to East Kilbride 50 years ago, Mr Adie said: “Our markets
are varied by sector and geography. We have been fortunate
and, I think, astute enough to keep abreast of our customers’
needs and flexible in our ability to tailor our crane models to suit.
Konecranes is also an innovative group and we enjoy cutting
edge technologies producing very beneficial components for
sector demands.”
“Obviously, not all sectors are always buoyant, for example the
automotive market at present,” Mr Adie continued, “but others are
growing, like the power and waste-to-energy areas, and we are
winning orders both here in the UK and overseas.”
Konecranes – UK
Fax: +44 1355 263654
Website:
50 years on, and Konecranes UK
is still enjoying healthy growth
 A photograph of the Konecranes factory in East Kilbride taken in the 1960s