A Coventry-based Lawton Tubes factory worker is marking half a century of service to the business.
Dave White joined Lawton Tubes, who manufacture and supply copper and stainless tube and fittings, as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in September 1976 after being made redundant at another firm.
He was put to work at Torrington Avenue on the draw benches, which pull copper tube down to size, before his two older brothers later followed him into the business.
Half a century on, and Dave has continued working in similar roles alongside several generations of the Lawton family, before moving on to the factory flowline in recent years.
He even credits the company with his marriage to wife, after meeting her at a colleague’s party in the 1980s.
Dave said: “It’s been solid, stable employment for me over the years, and I have loved every second of it.
“The job was much more physical back in the day, especially with unloading the lorries by hand, but technology has changed all of that now – that has probably been the biggest change.
“My biggest highlight would have to be meeting my wife at a colleague’s party. So if it wasn’t for Lawton Tubes I would never have met my wife, so I thank them for that!”
Dave’s factory floor colleague Chris Dyne is also set to mark 40 years with the business in a year’s time, with the pair being friends since they were 15.
Chris added: “I have always known him to be a dedicated and hard worker, and a great example for others to follow, including myself.
“I know it’s a family-run business, and it truly feels like that when you’re on the factory floor as well, which is why Dave and so many others have stuck around for so long.”
Giles Lawton, Managing Director of Operations at Lawton Tubes, said: “Fifty years with one company is something you very rarely see today, and Dave has earned the thanks of everyone here.
“He joined us when a big job on the draw bench needed four people, and he has been part of every change since. That kind of experience and loyalty has helped carry this family business through more than a century.
“On behalf of the board and the Lawton family, congratulations Dave, and thank you.”
Lawton Tubes is an Industrial Associate of CIPHE, to see the full list of associates check out the CIPHE industrial associates directory