Our people
We’ve more than 70 skilled craftsmen and women at Kirkpatrick, many of whom have been with us for generations. Each is a vital cog in the wheel of our business – here’s a little flavour of what they do for us:
Paul
Our furnace man, Paul, has been with us since the turn of the Millennium – he fills and operates the furnace, tests the temperature, and (once hot enough) tilts the furnace so the metal pours into the caster’s ladles.
Tracy
Tracy, who has worked in our warehouse and packing department since 2003, gives our products a final quality check to ensure everything is shipshape before they’re sent out promptly to our expectant customers.
Nick
Our assistant production manager, Nick, began working at Kirkpatrick in 2000 dealing with sales and despatch – and progressed to his current role by having a great all round knowledge of our products and customers.
Sandra
Sandra originally worked within the foundry in the core making shop, but in 2003 she moved to our assembly area or ‘machine shop’ where she expertly operates a drilling machine, forming fixing holes into our iron castings.
Gary
One of our longest serving employees, Gary (who is married to Sandra and has a son who also works with us) originally joined us in 1978 as a moulder in the foundry, and has risen through the ranks to become production director.
Stuart
Stuart, who has worked in our foundry since 2004, operates our shot blast machine which cleans excess sand off the castings after they have cooled down.
Kevin
One of our longest serving team members whose family have a long history with Kirkpatrick, Kevin spent several years in the machine shop refining castings, and now works in the foundry helping with the furnace and annealing ovens.
John
John began working with us in 2007 and operates the equipment in the machine shop – refining, fettling and assembling castings into our uniquely finished products that will last a lifetime.