What does your job role as Supply Chain Manager at WCE involve?
My job role involves all aspects of the Supply chain from the sourcing of raw materials and all associated parts required ensuring a smooth process to enable the on-time and in full delivery to our customers.
Close collaboration between all our departments is key to producing a top-quality product, at a competitive price for the benefit of our customers. My day includes liaising with our valued suppliers to make sure we have the correct materials available to meet expected lead times and at competitive pricing.
What is the best part of working at WCE?
I particularly enjoy working with my purchasing team to resolve problems and discover new solutions to any issues that may arise. I started working at WCE in 1999 as a CNC machine operator and have been fortunate enough to progress through the company over the years, taking advantage of the many opportunities offered to me such as programming courses and ILM training, which led me to the role of CNC Manager. It was from there I was able to take up the offer of more training and coaching to where I have taken the role of Supply Chain Manager at WCE. The role is certainly a challenging one, but also a rewarding one.
What do you like doing for fun?
In my spare time I spend a lot of my time with my family at various Theme Parks around the country, such as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, and combine this with travelling abroad to visit parks in Europe and the USA. I also enjoy reading a good book and watching motorsport when I can.
Please feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn below,
We have been running apprenticeship schemes in conjunction with Hereford and Worcester Group Training Association for several years. There are many great apprenticeship success stories at WCE. It is a great opportunity to gain a highly skilled job, with opportunities for reskilling and career development.
Many of our employees began their careers as an apprentice at WCE, including our Managing Director. Here are just a few of our apprenticeship stories.
Darryl’s Story
I first started working at Wye Cylinder in 2010, as a machinist. I was taken on as an apprentice the same year. This proved to be a fantastic move forward in my development. Within a year I had completed my CNC training and acquired an NVQ in mechanical engineering.
In 2013 an opportunity arose to progress into the drawing office as a technical engineer, where I have been ever since. Growing in this role has allowed me to get involved in more things in the company than I could have imagined before starting my apprenticeship.
I really enjoy the job and in particular the challenges it brings. My current role sees me producing the very drawings that I used to read as a machinist during my apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is a fantastic first step into the rest of your career.
Marc’s Story
I first started work at WCE in 2010 as an agency worker. Quite quickly I was taken on permanently and started my apprenticeship in 2011. In 2013, I successfully completed my NVQ in mechanical engineering and after that completed my HNC in 2015. I continued to progress and was made Team Leader in 2017, which allowed me to play a key role in keeping our barfeed / milling section running as efficiently as possible.
In 2019 I completed an ILM level 3 in Leadership & Management which has helped me with my new role and responsibilities as CNC Manager. The apprenticeship has given me a great foundation to develop myself as an engineer and team leader. Without the apprenticeship, I feel I wouldn’t have the skillset I have now.
Marcin’s Story
I started working for WCE in 2011 in the assembly area, building new cylinders. It was a great experience, but I expressed an interest in moving into machine setting and programming. This happened very quickly and also led me to start my full machining apprenticeship in 2012.
I gained my NVQ BTEC diploma level 2 & 3 by 2016. In 2018 I was appointed team leader in my section, which produces all major internal componentry for our cylinders. I also completed my ILM level 3 in Leadership & Management in 2019. I now have the role of Production Manager. The apprenticeship has helped give me a baseline to expand my skills, knowledge and experience. I really enjoy my work as it keeps me on my toes with all the various challenges that come my way.
Ellis’ Story
My apprenticeship started in September 2017 and I spent the first year at Herefordshire Group Training. I joined WCE and continued my training within the Toolroom. My skills progressed on to CNC milling and lathe machines. Having developed these skills, I feel that I have become a valuable asset to the company.
I’m currently completing my final year of my apprenticeship, to gain a Level 3 Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing. I would love to continue to develop my skill set further and myself as an employee. I know that this company will give me the possibilities to progress my career even further in the future.
Will’s Story
My time at WCE began with work experience whilst I was at secondary school. I spent a week working around the different areas of the business and it helped me understand what it entailed. I really enjoyed the various sections and loved my day as a designer! Following this week, I stayed in touch with WCE, and was asked if I could work over the summer holiday. Having spent some time here, I felt settled and happy with where I was working. I was lucky enough to be offered an apprenticeship, which gave me a real focus throughout my last year at school.
I’m currently in the second year of my Level 3 Engineering Technician Apprenticeship. I’m working in the drawing office, designing new products and improving older ones where possible. I really enjoy what I do,and look forward to progressing with my career.
Would you like to be part of our apprenticeship success stories at WCE? Find out more about apprenticeships here.
The origins of WCE can be traced back to the 1950s, with its original owner and founder Mel Bayliss. Born in 1928, Mel had a passion for engineering and in particular, motorised travel. So much so, in 1959 Mel built his first “Fastakart” racing Kart, which was all the rage at the time!
Less than 10 years later, there was a turning point and Mel was asked to build his first hydraulic cylinder for one of his customers. By early 1969, Mel had manufactured his first farm tipping ‘ram’ and his new business was born.
Fast-forward to 1972 and Mel was joined in the business by his son Ken. Ken can be seen in the middle of the motorbike picture as a little boy in shorts! Ken completed his engineering training. By 1975 Ken was in charge of the entire Bromyard factory, at the young age of 25. By the time he was 36, Ken was running the company and taking the business to new heights.
Current day, origins of WCE still remain…
To this day, the origins of WCE remain a family business producing high-quality hydraulic cylinders. They now cover a wide range of sectors including waste management and mining, but farming and agriculture remain at its core. At 50 years young WCE’s manufacturing process may have changed a lot, but our dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable staff are still key. Our passion for engineering will always remain at our core.
Innovation is at the heart of what we do here at WCE. We are always looking into ways to improve our manufacturing process, products and customer service. The funding secured for innovative machinery we received, enabled us to streamline our paint drying process. Our current machinery was insufficient and meant we were losing value time and energy. It didn’t meet our high expectations and we needed a solution to overcome this.
We had previously approached Marches Growth Hub, to obtain a BEEP Grant in 2019. This enabled us to invest in a new piece of machinery. This not only increased our productivity, but also accrued yearly energy cost savings and reduced almost 25 tonne of carbon a year.
Due to the previous success, it was natural for us to reach out once again, to see if any further support was available. Marches Growth Hub helped with a successful application. WCE secured funding for innovative machinery with a £20,000 grant from the Business Growth Programme (BGP2). This supported the purchase of our new £45,000 paint drying oven, from Unitech Engineering Ltd. This helped us achieve an increase in capacity and provide a better quality finished product to our customers.
Richard Williams, Managing Director comments
“We were extremely pleased to receive the grant. The addition of this new paint drying oven has enabled us to increase capacity. We can now complete an extra 500 cylinders per week and it has created two new full-time jobs. We are very proud of the high quality hydraulic cylinders that we design and manufacture. This feels like another piece of the jigsaw! We can now provide an even better end-to end service for our customers. We are extremely grateful to Marches Growth Hub and we look forward to working with them on future opportunities.”
As per our main company objectives regarding continuous improvement, we have commissioned a new billet saw. This billet saw will comfortably cut up to 150mm diameter with greatly improved cutting times. In some cases, up to 18 times faster than the previous model it replaced! This has a positive effect on overall cylinder unit cost helping us remain competitive in the market.
