Politicians need to ‘spend time in industry’ before entering Parliament, says Tim Strawson boss of Bradbury Group

Tim Strawson, the managing director, of the Bradbury Group, said he was exasperated by politicians’ failure to provide clarity on Brexit.

However, his company is continuing to seek export opportunities in the Middle East, Russia and Gibraltar after investing in its facilities.

Bradbury Group is the largest UK manufacturer of physical security products, including steel doors, grilles, cages and bar sets.

The firm has moved into new headquarters on Foxhills Industrial Estate in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, following an investment of around £8 million.

It had outgrown its previous premises, which were also in Scunthorpe.

Mr Strawson told The Yorkshire Post: that having the extra capacity allowed Bradbury to give its customers a better service.

The company employs more than 200 staff and aims to triple its turnover to around £40m in five years.

Mr Strawson said the uncertainty over Brexit was harming business confidence.

He added: “However, on a counter to that, because the pound has got weaker, it’s opened up export opportunities for us.

“Long term, the uncertainty over Brexit is doing a lot of damage because people will lose confidence in buying British.

“It’s no good seeing our Prime Minister running around the world with her cap in her hand. It’s no good seeing the House of Commons squabbling and trying to look after their own political ends, rather than trying to find out what is best for the country.”

He added: “Long term it is doing us some damage. As a good trading nation we will find ways to deal with whatever opportunity arises. I am confident that we as a company will find opportunities.

“Politicians are directors of Great Britain limited and we are the shareholders and we have voted to leave. They are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

“If they were directors of a public limited company they would definitely have been sacked by now.”

Mr Strawson said he had always been passionate about employing local people. He created Youth Engineering, a start-up CIC (community interest company) which helps engineering apprentices in Scunthorpe find work. Around 52 young people have moved into full-time roles through this course in the last four years.

As part of the expansion, the company has invested several million pounds into new state-of-the-art machinery. The vast scale of the new premises means it can store up to 4,000 finished units, 10 times more than the previous facility.

Mr Strawson said: “This investment marks the start of a new journey for Bradbury Group. We are aiming high, with the aspiration to be the best and most trusted steel door manufacturer in the world.”

Steady tale of growth

Established in 1991 as a steel grilles manufacturer, the Bradbury Group has enjoyed strong growth in recent years.

Bradbury’s acquisition of Martin Roberts in 2016, a provider of architectural steel door-sets, means Bradbury can now provide physical security services at Heathrow Terminal 5 and Canary Wharf.

Paul Sweeting, Technical Director at the Bradbury Group, said “We have not only developed our product range, but have also invested heavily in automation and the purchasing of new machinery to make our manufacturing process as lean as possible. “We’re very grateful to our customers, partners and staff.”