Record demand leads to expansion of UK machinery manufacturer Claydon
17th April 2023
To meet rapid growth in global demand, family-owned UK manufacturer Claydon Yield-o-Meter Ltd has recently expanded its factory at the Wickhambrook site in West Suffolk, with the completed building set to double production and create numerous additional jobs.
A 6m version of Claydon’s new Evolution mounted drill working on E. T. Claydon & Sons’ 325ha arable farm, where potential customers can see first-hand the benefits of the Claydon Opti-Till system.
Supported by a £267,400 Growing Business Fund Grant from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP), the project will help the company manage an unprecedented increase in orders.
Demand is expected to grow further in 2023 as the business works with its dealer and distributor partners to develop sales of its Evolution and Hybrid drills, Straw Harrows, TerraStar light cultivators and TerraBlade inter-row hoes.
Company CEO Jeff Claydon commented: “Unlike many other companies in the UK farm machinery sector which import machinery made overseas we design, test and manufacture all our products from scratch, employ local staff and benefit the UK businesses which supply us.”
An arable farmer, Jeff founded the company in 1981 to launch the Claydon Yield-o-Meter, the first device to provide an accurate ‘real-time’ reading of crop yields on a display in the cab of a combine harvester.
In 2001, when grain prices fell to levels that made combinable crop production uneconomic using traditional establishment methods, Jeff developed the Opti-Till Direct Strip Seeding System to reduce costs without adversely impacting output, thereby securing the future of his family’s farm.
Today, Opti-Till is helping farmers all over the world save the equivalent of up to £250 per hectare on the cost of establishing combinable crops across the widest range of soil types and conditions. The system combines stubble management and strip seeding techniques that have been proven for over 20 years.
Compared to traditional methods, these enable farming businesses to operate much more efficiently, profitably, and sustainably, using just 10 percent of the fuel required for a traditional plough-based system. The significant fuel savings come in addition to yield, soil fertility and environmental benefits.
“Farmers all over the world face growing political, social, environmental and economic pressures, which the Opti-Till Direct Strip Seeding System helps them to address,” the CEO said.
A “quantum leap forward” for the company
In 2015, Claydon was awarded the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership grant to help the business develop in three stages. The first of these was the construction of new offices adjoining the company’s existing production facility to house additional staff with the goal of supporting customers in the UK and overseas.
Planning permission for the new building was awarded in March 2016 and work started in July the following year, with Claydon employees completing the ground works, construction and fitting out of the building involving suppliers and contractors from across the Anglia region.
Blending in with the existing workshop building and surrounding countryside to minimise their visual impact, the two-storey offices provide 365m2 of accommodation for up to 27 full and part-time staff on the top level.
The ground floor is dedicated to visitors, with two meeting rooms, a dealer training and presentation studio which can accommodate up to 50 people, along with commercial-grade catering facilities.
What’s more, a £100,000 investment in solar technologies provides 100kW/h of electrical energy, reducing the use of electricity from the National Grid at the site and minimising the company’s carbon footprint.
The second stage in the company’s development, which has just been completed, involved the construction of a new assembly building on the footprint of derelict former farm buildings. Mr Claydon added:
“The company is growing rapidly and massively, a highly skilled team is in place, but additional production capacity is needed to manufacture Claydon Opti-Till products to fulfil demand from markets all over the world, including the UK where sales have doubled.
“Despite huge uncertainties caused by Brexit and Covid-19, in July 2021 we decided to go ahead with the new building to mark the company’s 40th anniversary. Claydon staff completed the footings in the winter of 2021 and construction started in summer 2022.
“The project was managed in-house but, due to difficulties in obtaining contractors and materials, progress was slower than anticipated,” he noted.
Claydon’s focus is currently to recruit additional staff to fill the range of vacancies available at its Wickhambrook factory. With the requirement for staff in the assembly and yard area alone set to triple in 2023, the company is looking to fill rewarding opportunities across all sectors of its business, from design, procurement and sales positions to welding, painting, fabrication, and assembly roles.
Despite significant expansion over the years, Claydon Yield-o-Meter Ltd remains a family-owned business, one which is being steered into the future by Jeff’s two sons, Spencer (commercial director) and Oliver (operations director), who added:
“This significant investment we have made in these new production facilities will help us to take a quantum leap forward to meet demand for Claydon products and is a key part of our long-term plan to develop the potential which exists all over the world.”
Jeff Claydon (right) and Oliver Claydon in the new assembly building.
