MP visits global hardware manufacturer
Posted on 03/08/2016
A MP has visited the UK headquarters of a global hardware manufacturer to discuss the implications of Brexit and hear about the firm’s plans for the future.
Coventry South MP Jim Cunningham met with senior staff at Caldwell’s UK headquarters before taking a tour of the factory.
The company’s UK MD David Walker organised the meeting to gain a further insight into what Brexit may look like in reality, following the referendum in June.
David was also keen to showcase the company’s commitment to innovation and explain how it is pioneering the integration of smart technology in windows; and helping to bring motorised products to market.
He comments: “Caldwell and its sub-brands export to over fifty countries across the world and at our Coventry factory many of our workforce are EU nationals. We also import some materials, so have naturally been keeping a close eye on developments post-referendum.”
The Labour MP who has an engineering and manufacturing background said he felt that Prime Minister Theresa May was being guarded on the rights of EU nationals seeking to remain and work in the UK until the rights of UK nationals living and working in the EU had been guaranteed.
He said he didn’t envisage and sincerely hoped that there would not be any issues with EU nationals currently living and working in the UK continuing to do so.
Regarding trade Mr Cunningham said we were seeing the creation of multiple trading blocks across the world and that the UK’s situation now mirrored that of Norway and Switzerland, where it would need to negotiate stand-alone tariffs and trading deals with Europe and beyond.
On Caldwell as a company, he said: “Caldwell is a major employer in Coventry and clearly at the cutting edge of manufacturing and innovation. Like any well-oiled operation, I don’t envisage anything but a bright future for everybody here in this brave new world.”
Caldwell, which has its headquarters in Rochester, New York, is a global leader in specialist hardware and is the parent company of Cotswold Architectural Products – an international friction stay manufacturer.
In the UK Caldwell has been trading since 1974 and in 2015 turned over £19.1; and employ 148 people in the UK.