Manufacturer Econ celebrates 50th year with golden gritter

Econ Engineering has created a one-off vehicle at its factory in Ripon, North Yorkshire, to mark its 50th year in business.

The company, which is the UK’s largest gritter and road mending vehicle manufacturer, employs over 200 staff at its Ripon headquarters and factory, where hundreds of the UK’s fleet of winter maintenance vehicles are also stored and serviced each year.

Econ is the largest employer in the city and the company now produces 80 per cent of all the salt spreading vehicles used on the UK’s roads.

The £28m turnover family business said continues to recruit for new staff after a ‘dramatic upsurge’ in orders from local authorities and other clients.

To celebrate the milestone year, the company has built a golden gritter that will tour the UK in the autumn, visiting communities across the UK.

In the meantime, the one-off vehicle will be based at the company’s gritter museum, a private showroom of historic machinery based at the Ripon factory.

The company is opening its factory to the public on May 11 when people will get the chance to see the vehicles inside and out.

Econ sales director Andrew Lupton said: “We wanted to show the people of Ripon what’s behind the doors at Econ, and give them a glimpse of the factory and the products we make here that we are so very proud of.

“The Golden Gritter is unique, and is even more eye catching than the usual strking ‘high vis’ yellow lorries we are famous for making locally.”

Anyone planning to attend the open day, which will take place between 10am and 3pm, is asked to email [email protected] with estimated numbers.

Further information is available at http://econ.uk.com/news/