Celebrating Our 2-Year Anniversary as a Proud Member of Graco

Published: 17th November 2016 | Issue 39 Share article:

Sam Crossley, Managing Director stands proud outside the new Alco building

The Alco Valves Group has come a very long way in the last few years, and this is in no small part to the support of their parent company, Graco Inc. This week Alco are celebrating the second anniversary of the Graco acquisition, and so it is with this milestone that we look back on the last two years that Alco has been a proud member of Graco.

There are many investments that Graco have made in regards to equipment and machinery. Most noteworthy include CNC such as the Mazak Integrex and 2 Citizen L32’s. Graco sent its own expert engineers from Minnesota to assist in the installation and implementation of these impressive machines and to ensure that the machinists were trained to the highest of standards. This machinery has enormously helped Alco to precision machine numerous valves and parts in-house, ensuring the best possible quality and efficiency.

When the company was sold in October 2014, the role of Managing Director was temporarily vacant, and so it was in January 2015 that Graco’s efforts to find a new leader paid off, with the commencement of Samuel Crossley as Managing Director. Sam’s wealth of professional experience and extensive background has greatly benefited Alco. With Sam came the introduction of Peter Baxendale (Production Director), Alison Jones (Finance Director) and the renowned Ron Strang (Group Technical Director).

With expansions occurring geographically, including the opening of the Dubai Office in late 2015, the original headquarters, as well as their machine shops were starting to outgrow their facilities. Sam Crossley and Graco worked to find a suitable new headquarters, where all of these facilities could be housed under one roof, whilst also considering Alco’s Brighouse heritage. In July 2015 a new factory on Gooder Lane Brighouse was purchased, with redevelopment work planned for completion in December 2016.

Alco is now looking forward to more developments, including a new office in Australia and more precision engineering machinery.

And with so much change, sometimes a fresh new look for a company is a good thing. In September 2016, a new corporate image was commissioned for Alco. Sam Crossley stated: “We are proud to reveal a new visual strategy that will create greater clarity and consistency. Our new corporate design reflects the driving principle of our company and its future. Just like Alco, our new design is sophisticated, professional, and far more than meets the eye."

To find out more, check out the Alco website and social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Tel: +44(0)1484 710511
Email: uk@alco-valves.com
Web: www.alco-valves.com

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