A family-owned company in Suffolk which designs and manufactures state-of-the-art machinery used by farmers the world over to efficiently establish agricultural crops has warned that difficulties in recruiting additional staff will threaten its ability to meet strong demand from domestic and export markets during 2022.
Based near Newmarket, Claydon Yield-o-Meter Limited (www.claydondrill.com), European market leader in direct strip till crop establishment technology, is currently looking to fill a variety of secure, full-time roles within its business. These include welders, a stores person, spray painter, enterprise resource planning co-ordinator, spares parts co-ordinator and design engineer.
Claydon’s pioneering Opti-Till® system, which takes crop establishment to another level, has been described as one of the greatest advances in agriculture since Jethro Tull invented the horse-drawn seed drill in 1701 and tractors replaced horses in the fields of East Anglia during the 1940s. Widely acclaimed by farmers throughout the world, Claydon recently achieved public prominence after its products featured in ‘Clarkson’s Farm’, the much-watched documentary series about TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson and his farm in the Cotswolds.
“During 2021, we celebrated 40 years in business and, despite unprecedented challenges caused by the global pandemic, managed to increase our sales by 50 per cent compared with the previous year, a huge achievement,” Jeff Claydon, the company’s CEO, states. “Currently, we are on track to achieve the same percentage growth in 2022 due to the popularity of Claydon Opti-Till® products. Approximately 60 per cent of our production is exported to 33 countries, from Europe to New Zealand, bringing much-needed income into the UK and local economies.
“Currently, we have a full order book and are in the process of constructing a new purpose-built assembly hall to boost manufacturing capacity at our factory in Wickhambrook. This is scheduled to come on stream in the spring and will be used to assemble all our products, including the new range of Claydon Evolution mounted drills which have just been launched.
“Demand for our products is increasing substantially because the Claydon Opti-Till® System provides significant opportunities to save fuel, labour, and money as well as improve timeliness. There are also substantial environmental benefits in using the Claydon system: improved soil health, lower carbon emissions, carbon capture and reduced soil erosion. These are particularly relevant given the direction set by the recent COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the likely future requirements of the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) for farmers and the new capital grant structure in England.
“Our key priority going into 2022 is to substantially expand the workforce by recruiting additional staff across all areas of the business. However, our ability to do so is threatened by the current shortage of labour. Claydon is a very successful British company which provides a great place to work, additional benefits and excellent opportunities for career progression and training, both for those with experience and those just starting their working lives.
“Despite this, it is increasingly difficult to attract staff and we are now considering offering help with visas for overseas workers to come to the UK. We have customers across the world, and this is also reflected in our team at Claydon, with staff members hailing from the UK along with countries such as South Africa, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Thailand, Moldova, Latvia, and Ireland.
“Currently, great uncertainties exist in the domestic and global economies, so the UK cannot go on living on borrowed money as has been the case for so long. The country must get back to having a strong manufacturing base which generates real products and real wealth.
“To further increase our own manufacturing capacity, Claydon is also looking to forge additional partnerships and build long-term relationships with other local companies providing high-quality engineering services, which will help to improve the prosperity of local businesses, families and the wider economy.”
Further details from Claydon Yield-o-Meter Limited on 01440 820327 or visit www.claydondrill.com
One of the new Claydon Evolution mounted drills operating on the Claydon farm in Suffolk
ABOUT CLAYDON
Arable farmer Jeff Claydon developed the Claydon Opti-Till® System of direct strip seeding to increase the performance and profitability of his family’s arable farm in Suffolk, which produces a range of winter and spring-sown combinable crops. Since the company launched its first drill in 2003, the Claydon V-Drill, it has progressively perfected and expanded the product range and played a significant role in leading the revolution for European farmers to adopt direct drilling techniques which are appropriate for their conditions.
Farmers throughout the world are successfully operating the Claydon Opti-Till® System on all types of soil, in different climatic conditions and for all types of crops that can be air sown. It is based around the Claydon trailed and mounted drills from 3m to 8m wide, all of which incorporate the company’s unique, leading tine technology which provides exceptional ability and versatility. The Claydon range also includes 3m, 7.5m, 9m, 12.5m and 15m Straw Harrows, the 6m TerraStar® light rotary cultivator and TerraBlade inter-row hoes from 3m to 8m wide.