continued from previous page
see an increased amount of aluminium. What we produce in Gloucester, I tell my people, aluminium is jewellery for cars in the shape of roof rails and trims”. Dr Vos meets us in reception before making us coffee in his own office, hard hat and high vis jacket hang in the corner. Product samples he cannot resist showing us are tucked away in every corner and staff knock and enter freely every few minutes to keep one another up to speed. Dr Vos seems to enjoy the composed, but dynamic nature of the non-stop business in which he thrives and wears his no doubt challenging job like a man ready, able and motivated. “I am a workaholic. What I mean is, I like to work and enjoy working hard,” he volunteers, in his exemplary English with distinct Nordic overtones, smirking at his frank confession. All of which is good news for Gloucester, as the firm begins to centre its manufacturing operations within the heart of the city. Good news too for jobs. “We employ 150 staff currently and expect that to grow to 190,” said Dr. Vos. Most of those will be what he calls ‘technical’ roles. “We work with robots and CNC machines and it is also about lean production, engineering, metal forming, machining and about chemistry,” he adds. The business also has an operation in Tewkesbury, where it makes building systems: windows, doors and facades, and a sister extrusion operation in Cheltenham, which feeds the Gloucester business with extrusions for roof rails and trims, among many other customers in the UK. Hydro has 11 plants in the UK and an estimated
1,200 staff. Worldwide staff numbers are in the region of 35,000 in 40 countries. “We are a global company being local,” says Dr Vos. “I have been all over the map. Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Middle East, Brazil, the US and now in the UK.” For new entrees Gloucester could be a start of a global career in Hydro if you want. On the other hand, we have a stable work force, with some folks being loyal to this site for 30 to 40 years working in logistics or polishing. “We have a diverse workforce as well, with 26 per cent female and we have a target to increase to 30 per cent.” It is in the Gloucester plant, already up and running, where the major investment will go as Hydro stays true to what Dr. Vos tells us is its mantra – ‘Care, Collaboration and Courage’. Courage because this is a business re- configuring itself in readiness for the future of the automobile industry – a sector increasingly reliant on supplier specialists to make its products in new ways as it develops towards autonomous driving and
8 | December 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog