Group Rhodes CEO Mark Ridgway (right) with Simon Lightwood MP outside the company’s factory in WakefieldGroup Rhodes recently welcomed Labour MP for Wakefield and Shadow Minister for Transport, Simon Lightwood, to its head offices and factory in Wakefield to see for himself the innovative work that is carried out by the business.
The company’s CEO Mark Ridgway gave Mr Lightwood a tour of the facility, where he saw among other things a ‘state of the art’ clay preparation machinery destined for the first ‘net zero’ brick facility in the UK at
Ibstock’s Atlas site in Walsall, West Midlands. The company also highlighted the use of its technology at the South Kirkby Household Waste Recycling Centre where patented Group Rhodes machinery processes co-mingled household waste without the need for incineration.
Mr Lightwood was also given the chance to speak to Group Rhodes staff before watching a presentation on its main trading divisions: Craven Fawcett, Rhodes Interform and Hallamshire Engineering Services. Following this, there was a discussion between Mr Lightwood and Mr Ridgway about R&D tax credits, advanced engineering skills and technological innovation in the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) sector.
Mr Ridgway said: “We were very pleased to welcome Simon Lightwood MP to the company, which gave us the chance to highlight our innovation in the aerospace, automotive and heavy ceramics sectors. Wakefield has a long history of engineering excellence and as Group Rhodes approaches its 200th anniversary we need to ensure we have access to appropriate skills and investment strategies to develop this legacy. There are some important challenges facing us and other manufacturers on both a local and national level, and on these and other matters we very much welcome Simon’s support.”
Mr Lightwood said: “It was incredibly impressive to witness the level of innovation operating from within Wakefield, and to hear about Group Rhodes’ recent export success. I was particularly interested in the technology invested in lightweighting structures used in the aerospace and automotive sectors which helps towards achieving ‘net zero’ targets.”
Mr Lightwood has been serving as MP for Wakefield since he won a by-election held in 2022 and has campaigned on a wide range of issues, including bus services.
Group Rhodes is a UK manufacturer of machinery and supplier of after-market services for metal-forming, material handling, waste management, clay preparation, concrete working and special purpose applications, and remains one of the largest OEM’s in its field in Europe.