Bloxwich By Numbers – 46 Years and Counting
Posted on Jul 04, 2023
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Our Sales & Logistics Manager Craig Hyden is our longest serving employee ever at 46 years and counting. A bit like jubilees extremely long lengths of service are very rare these days. For Craig to achieve such a milestone only stands as a testament to his dedication and love for his work at Bloxwich.
Where It All Started
Craig joined the Bloxwich Lock & Stamping Co Ltd on the 4th of July 1977 (a silver jubilee year) and worked in the Chase Park site (Ring Road, Chase Terrace, Burntwood, WS7 8QJ).
Aged only 18 at the time Craig still remembers how it all started with an interview at the end of the day (he had to go home for his dinner first). After the interview he was told to start on the Monday, and ever since then he has never looked back.
Various Roles
Craig started as a labourer in the warehouse at the Chase Park site in 1977 and did that role until 1979. From August 1979 – 1984 Craig was a storeman, from which he was also involved in quality control. From September 1984 – 2003 Craig combined these two roles with that of warehouse foreman.
Craig moved into the office undertaking sales from October 2003 – October 2006.
Bloxwich moved to their current location in Cannock in November 2006 and to the present day Craig’s role has been the Sales and Logistics Manager. On the 4th of July 2023 that all adds up to 46 years and counting.
Name Changes
In Craigs time Bloxwich has changed massively, in size, location and in name too. Within 12 month of Craig joining the name changed from Bloxwich Lock & Stamping Co Ltd to Bloxwich Engineering Ltd (BEL).
Later the name changed again from Bloxwich Engineering Ltd (BEL) to Bloxwich Truck & Container.
Other divisions of BEL have come and gone with Bloxwich Transport & Container Products Ltd (Bloxwich Group) being introduced in 2006. The Bloxwich Group now consists of Bloxwich Truck & Container, Bloxwich Stamping & Bloxwich Trading.
Location Location Location
Back in 1977 when Craig joined the Bloxwich Lock & Stamping Co Ltd it wasn’t just the Truck and Container Components Division at Chase Park (Ring Road, Chase Terrace Walsall WS7 8QJ) that existed.
Bloxwich still had the original Bell Lane site and also the Fryers Road site, both in Bloxwich itself.
At its peak Bloxwich employed over 900 people and also had manufacturing and forging plants in the Isithebe industrial estate in South Africa.
Bell Lane is now new houses with some street names that pay homage to the previous occupants products and services e.g. Stamping Way, Hinges Road, Catches Drive and Pulley Close.
These days Bloxwich has three sites, head office in Cannock, Bloxwich Stamping in Birmingham and the engineering office in Aberdeen.
Craig has worked at both the Chase Park & Cannock sites.
So What Has Kept Craig At Bloxwich for So Long?
Craig said that he has worked at Bloxwich for so long “as it provides job security and a different day every day”. No day is the same as Craig works on different projects and with different clients constantly.
During his time at Bloxwich Craig has been away on business several times and has been instrumental in setting up distributors and manufacturing in numerous locations including China, India, USA, Netherlands, Germany and Poland to name but a few.
Will Craig Ever Stop Working for Bloxwich?
Retirement has been mentioned recently but we are all hoping Craig can keep adding to his 46 not out score and who knows maybe even reach 50 years here!
More Information
Finally, for more information on Bloxwich Group, Bloxwich Truck & Container, Bloxwich Stamping & Bloxwich Trading please call us on +44(0) 1543 435 160