Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, and his Conservative colleague for South Basildon and East Thurrock, Stephen Metcalfe followed in the footsteps of Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, when they paid a recent visit to the Basildon Tractor Plant at Cranes Farm Road.
The two local south Essex MPs were given a presentation on the plant, (which began life as the Ford Tractor Plant in 1964, but which is now part of the Fiat New Holland Group of companies) by Managing Director Colin Larkin, who started out as a worker on the shop floor of the plant almost 30 years ago.
The pair of politicians were then taken on a tour of the factory, where they had an opportunity to chat to workers on the shop floor (including a number of recently recruited apprentices) as well as having a chance to follow the progress of a tractor as it makes its way along the production line, before completing testing and emerging as a finished product.
This year the plant is likely to produce some £7 billion worth of tractors and around 1 in 10 of all medium tractors built anywhere in the world are now produced at Basildon, which is the UK’s sole dedicated tractor manufacturing facility.
In a joint statement issued shortly after their visit, Mark Francois and Stephen Metcalfe said:
“We would like to thank Colin Larkin and all of his team at the Basildon Tractor Plant for a really enjoyable and informative visit last week. This is a really impressive facility which shows what British workers in the manufacturing industry can really achieve and how they are making an important contribution to our economy, not just in Essex but for the country as a whole. As South Essex MPs we are proud to have a facility like this in our part of the county and we want to wish all of the people employed at the Basildon Tractor Plant all the very best for their future success.”