Automotive castings specialist, Grainger & Worrall has appointed industry expert, Mark Powell in a newly created position: Director – Foundry Operations. The announcement is the latest in a series of business developments by the Bridgnorth-based company, which was recently presented with the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) Export Achievement Award and reflects its sustained growth in 2019. The appointment is aligned with the continued roll out of its £6m investment plan, which focuses on enhanced production efficiency across its business worldwide.
Matthew Grainger, Grainger & Worrall’s CEO, says: “Mark Powell joins us with a wealth of experience and his knowledge will provide additional focus on our drive to achieve increased efficiency. He is a perfect fit for our family-run company and he can help communicate this ethos throughout our global operations. We look forward to working towards ambitious targets and on exciting plans together.”
Powell, who will be responsible for 350 employees, moves from an Operations Director role at a global Tier One automotive supplier and has extensive engineering and technical experience, including a previous industrial casting background. The role at Grainger & Worrall has been newly created with the aim of bringing the company’s diverse range of industrial foundry operations under single control. The alignment of Prototype Iron, Prototype Aluminium, Motorsport and Series Production business units will help streamline the company’s overall operations.
“Having begun my career in a technical apprenticeship and worked my way up the ladder in a variety of challenging roles, I have an appreciation of the operational efficiencies and internal communications required to ensure that everybody at Grainger & Worrall is working towards the same common goal,” explains Powell. “The restructuring of the company’s operations will help to encourage knowledge-sharing, including shared learning, and further promote consistent best practice by instigating process control improvements. It’s an exciting time for Grainger & Worrall, but also from a personal perspective. This is a great opportunity to work for a British engineering company that’s thriving at home and overseas, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Grainger & Worrall’s £6m investment plan includes the building of two new, highly efficient melting towers at its Bridgnorth UK headquarters, the addition of a larger, third CT scanner to expand throughput capacity by 50%, and the opening of its US company, GW Inc.. The company beat a host of household names to the MIA award, which crowned a winning year – one that included supply of castings to victorious teams in elite motorsport around the world.
