The world’s leading cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis has made two forward thinking investments – firstly spending £200,000 replacing its factory roof and expanding its tool room; and secondly, appointing a new apprentice toolmaker.

Located in Rillington, North Yorkshire, Ellis’ cable cleats are specified and installed around the globe and this latest investment is very much aimed at ensuring it has the capacity and skills to maintain an astonishing growth pattern that has seen it post record figures in 15 out of the last 19 years.

The expansion of the tool room and recruitment of 17-year old Louis Hopper as the company’s latest apprentice provide the potential to increase production capacity in this vital area of the business by 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, the roof replacement significantly reduces the company’s carbon footprint as a result of the adoption of a forced air fan system, better insulation, and vastly improved natural lighting and ventilation.

Richard Shaw, managing director of Ellis, said: “One of the key ingredients in our on-going success is always ensuring we’re prepared for the next step in the company’s development.”

“On the home front this has seen us significantly expand our factory and warehouse space in recent years, and spend close to half a million pounds on redeveloping our offices so that they reflect the global stature of the company. While away from home, our network of country specific distributors now numbers 30 – meaning wherever and whenever cable cleats are being specified our name will be in the mix.”

Louis Hopper, who first came to Ellis on work experience, is the latest in a long line of apprentices taken on by Ellis. In fact, at present three of its four strong tool room team began life at Ellis as apprentices.

“Apprenticeships are in the news a lot at the moment, but from our perspective they have always been big news,” continued Richard. “We have a rich tradition of bringing on apprentices and nowhere can the benefits of this approach be seen more than in our tool room – their success has been, and will continue to be phenomenal.”

Another Ellis apprentice, Adam Freer, was named Derwent Training Association’s Apprentice of the Year (Final year NVQ in the workplace) earlier this year.

For further information on Ellis visit www.ellispatents.co.uk or call +44(0)1944758395.