New Holland Agriculture held a press conference on 15th May 2014 at its Basildon plant in celebration of the facility’s 50 years of continuous tractor operations.
Basildon is the only remaining tractor plant in the UK and has been firmly rooted at the heart of British tractor manufacturing and agriculture since its assembly line started production on 15th May 1964.
Carlo Lambro, President New Holland Agriculture, spoke about the brand’s legacy of innovation and its current successes in the market, while Colin Larkin, Basildon Plant Manager, presented the history of commitment and continuous improvement that has made the plant such a success for British manufacturing. They were followed by guest speaker Mr. Christopher Hale of the UK Trade & Investment Department who spoke about the importance of manufacturing and agriculture to the British economy.
Special guests at the event included Mr. Alex Golledge of the Bank of England. In addition to the European agricultural press, representatives from the mainstream media also attended the press conference.
Mr. Lambro highlighted New Holland’s long history of innovation and its strong relationship with farmers around the world, which has led the brand to its strong position in the markets.
Colin Larkin explained the key role that the Basildon plant’s participation in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) programme has played in the facility’s success. Based on the best Japanese production techniques, WCM is a production system designed to attack all forms of waste and losses. WCM practices enable the plant to manage extreme complexity successfully: the facility manufactures 14 tractor ranges, 133 models, 12,000 configurations using 9,680 part numbers. In a year, no two tractors that roll off the line are exactly the same.
Having entered the WCM programme in 2008, the Basildon plant has steadily improved its performance at every audit, achieving Bronze in 2012. The plant has its eyes set on achieving Silver within 2015.
New Holland’s plant has been an integral part of the Basildon community and in its 50 years of operation has regularly contributed to local charities and participated in local events and educational initiatives. At the end of the press conference, Mr. Andrew Watson, Business Director UK & RoI, expressed New Holland’s desire to mark the 50-year milestone with a donation to the community that has been the brand’s home for so many years.
Mr. Steve Horsted of Pioneer School was invited on stage to receive a commemorative plaque as a symbol of the donation made to the Head Teacher of the school for the creation of a garden for the children, aged 3-19, with severe and complex learning difficulties who attend. This will be an activity area where they will be able to discover nature and enjoy it in a safe environment, called “Exploratorium – Giving children the experience of Nature”.
