Stairlift supplier shoots behind-the-scenes video to inspire young people to enter manufacturing
Acorn Stairlifts has thrown its support behind a virtual event designed to help aspirational young people take up careers in modern manufacturing.
The global stairlift supplier has committed to help Bradford Manufacturing Weeks 2020, a regional event organised by the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, deliver its first online-only event.
The annual initiative brings together manufacturers, schools and young people through activities which usually include factory tours, work experience, seminars, exhibitions and learning events at participating manufacturers’ premises.
Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, however, the 2020 event has decided to stage all activities virtually, with more than 40 manufacturer events spread across the 10 days.
This year’s Bradford Manufacturing Weeks 2020 will include webinars, virtual factory tours, online presentations and Q&As, plus ‘Manufacturers Live’ and ‘Apprentices Live’ online events.
All initiatives are designed to give young people a taste of what it’s like to work in the manufacturing sector, along with information on how to get their careers started, according to the organisers.
Participating in the initiative is Acorn Stairlifts, which was founded in Bradford in 1992 and still operates from the Bradford Metropolitan District. It has manufacturing plants at Shipley and Steeton while its UK head offices are also located on Steeton’s Millennium Business Park, adjoining the factory.
The company produces more than 70,000 curved and straight stairlifts per year from its factories in West Yorkshire and Scotland, with two-thirds created for export.
A virtual launch event featured an exclusive look behind the scenes at Acorn Stairlifts’ Steeton factory, with an in-house video shot by the company’s Manufacturing Manager, Andrew Longthorne. He also introduced online attendees to key members of the 350-strong workforce.
Andrew’s video features some of the manufacturing processes at Acorn’s Steeton factory, which produces the company’s patented FastTrack curved stairlift rails. This system of interlocking rail sections, assembled on-site in a customer’s home, has reduced the waiting time for curved stairlift installations.
Watch Acorn’s video below:
