The answer to that question is a definite yes. On Friday 19th June Sears Seating celebrated 50 years manufacturing in the UK, nearly all this time here in Wales.
Sears Seating is a 170-year-old American family-owned company. Based on the banks of the Mississippi river in Davenport, Iowa, Sears manufactures seating solutions for Off Highway vehicles in the construction, agricultural, material handling and on highway truck industry.
Customers include some of the biggest names in these sectors including Caterpillar, JCB, John Deere and CLAAS amongst others in its portfolio. With plants in Brazil and China, Sears can support all parts of the globe supplying a range of products that go into the most extreme conditions on the planet.
The company started in Coventry in 1976 but quickly moved to Wales as part of a Welsh Development Agency inward investment program designed to off-set job losses within the coal and steel industry in Wales. Starting with one unit at Tafarnaubach in Tredegar, the business grew into four units on the Rassau Ind Est in Ebbw Vale before the purchase of its European headquarters Unit 42 on the same estate in 2012.
120 employees were joined by Sears family members Jim Sears (CEO), Steve Sears (CSO) along with Kent Wichelt (Company President) accompanied by their wives from Sears Manufacturing Company USA. Guests also included Moe Forourzan, Cllr Chris Smith, Blaenau Gwent Borough County Council and Andrew Jones, Welsh Government.
Guests and employees were treated to lunch in a Marquee set up in the company car park, followed by presentations and speeches. The celebration culminated in the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the event; the plaque to be displayed in the main reception with a second plaque residing at the USA headquarters.
A truly all Wales event with support from local companies. Catherine & Michael John of USK, supplied the Marque and lunch, Katies Bakes of Ebbw Vale supplied cakes and Indigo Jones of Caernarfon supplied the engraved plaque made from Welsh slate. A big thank you to all for helping to make the event a real success.
Managing Director Daryl Davies summed up the proceedings and what lies ahead.
“What a fantastic day to share with the Senior Management, employees and distinguished guests. The road to 50 years hasn’t been smooth but the Welsh spirit and family values have kept us going through the tough times.
With 50 years of manufacturing under our belt, Sears has a strong order book and plenty of new projects on the horizon.
The future looks prosperous for Sears so we look forward to the next 50 years manufacturing in Wales.”
