Local MP Robbie Moore has hosted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Keighley, with the pair visiting local manufacturing business Teconnex.
The visit was an opportunity for the Prime Minister to meet with Chris Marsden, the Managing Director of the Teconnex, to hear about how the Keighley-based business has established itself as a world leader in clamping technologies and how it recently diversified into the world of battery storage.
Mr Sunak received a tour of Teconnex’s head office and state of the art manufacturing facility on Chesham Street, meeting with employees and apprentices at the firm to receive a demonstration of their work and to talk about their experiences in the industry. Speaking after the visit, the Prime Ministed praised keighley as a "powerhouse of talent".
Local MP Robbie Moore, who accompanied Mr Sunak on the visit, also praised the “brilliant work” of local businesses across Keighley and the wider area, heralding the visit as an opportunity to showcase the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of the manufacturing, engineering and tech sector has in the town.
Mr Moore says that one of his top priorities has been to drive forward the vocational based skills agenda and to encourage apprenticeships so that businesses across Keighley and the wider area can benefit from local based talent.
Speaking after the visit, Robbie Moore MP said:
“As your MP, I am determined to put Keighley on the map by championing our brilliant manufacturing, engineering and tech-based businesses.
That’s why it was great to host the Prime Minster at Teconnex, where he had the chance to see for himself the brilliant work they are doing within their core business of clamping solutions for industrial and automotive use.
The Prime Minister also had the chance to see their latest product line developments within the world of battery storage, which aims to help commercial and industrial facilities become more energy independent.
Meeting with employees and apprentices, it was great to showcase Teconnex to the Prime Minister and to use the opportunity to outline why it is so important to have a strong vocational based skills agenda so our core manufacturing, engineering and tech businesses can go from strength to strength.”
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
“It was a pleasure to meet Managing Director Chris Marsden and his team at Teconnex’sstate of the art manufacturing facility in Keighley.
I am determined to ensure that our manufacturing and tech sector thrive both across the UK and on a global stage - during my visit to Keighley, I have seen first-hand how businesses like Teconnex are doing just that.
Keighley is a powerhouse of talent and after speaking with the Teconnex team, including their apprentices, I have heard how Teconnex are leading the way in the manufacturing of clamp technologies, and also how through their ingenuity, they have diversified into new markets of battery technology.
From working with Robbie, I know he is an incredibly hardworking MP and very passionate about improving the skills agenda so businesses like Teconnex are able to benefit. The manufacturing sector contributes billions to our economy each year and delivers millions of highly skilled jobs, and it is businesses like Teconnex that ensure that the sector continues to thrive.”
Managing Director of Teconnex, Chris Marsden said:
“Teconnex were pleased to welcome the Prime Minister and our local MP Robbie Moore to Teconnex on Monday 9thJanuary.
We are a successful family-owned business with headquarters here in Keighley where we employ 500 people, as well as an additional 700 employees in our growing overseas sites.
It’s great to be able to showcase our business and people whilst sharing our story of growth but it’s just as important to discuss the challenges even strong businesses have faced in recent years - ranging from the lasting impact of Brexit, the disruption of Covid, skills shortages, supply chain constraints and rapidly rising costs of raw materials, energy and employee wages. We work tirelessly to overcome these issues just to remain a viable business.
We are fortunate here at Teconnex because we have a very experienced and dedicated team of employees some of whom the Prime Minister had the pleasure to meet during his visit. For me it's the team ethos at Teconnex. That’s the single biggest reason we have been successful despite such a difficult environment.
Whilst Teconnex continues to grow in core automotive sectors we would welcome discussion on how local government can assist us with our diversification efforts - one of which is launching our own range of energy storage systems and lithium ion leisure batteries - a step into a greener future and one where businesses like Teconnex should be a priority for government.”
