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We’ve been telling you for a while now that the economy
is our number one priority. A big part of this is promoting
the area as a great place to live and do business. Over
the last couple of months we decided to write a book,
showcasing fifty successful local businesses to help
with our quest to attract more businesses to set up
in the area.
The aim is that this book will inspire those who already
live in the area to take the plunge and set up that
business they’ve always dreamt of running.
To pull the book together we wrote to every business
in the district, inviting them to take part. We then ran
four days of interviews and photography, capturing
the stories behind the success and some interesting
pictures to help tell the stories.
We thought we’d share with you a selection of the
stories we captured. There will also be a number
of videos associated with the campaign which we
really hope will bring it to life. For more information
about Grow in Wychavon – the book go to
Apprentices help shape engineering
Owner of Rotec Engineering Ltd Paul Butler has never
forgotten his own apprenticeship roots. Which is why
he’s incredibly proud of his new training academy
which specialises in engineering apprentices for
young people in Wychavon.
Paul Butler is a big believer in apprenticeships. “I started
out as an apprentice at a company called Allen Gears
in Pershore,” Paul says. “I feel so privileged to have
been trained by them. They manufacture some very
specialist products and they’re a really talented team,
so it was a great learning experience. They equipped
me with so much knowledge and the confidence to
branch out on my own and now, 15 years later, Rotec
has grown from a one man band to a successful,
40-strong team supplying parts all over the world.”
The company provides parts for a variety of industries
and has an interesting range of clients. From providing
parts to a leading Formula One team to military parts
for the Ministry of Defence, there’s never a dull
moment at Rotec.
Thinking back to his time as an apprentice, Paul com-
ments on how there were only three other apprentices
in his year, and that the true worth of their experience
can be seen given they’re are all now running their own
successful manufacturing businesses in the local area.
“I want to be able to give other young people the same
kind of opportunities that I had. That’s why we’ve
Grow in Wychavon – the book!
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opened our training academy,” he says. “If every
year we train about 15 new apprentices and if even
just a few of those go on to open their own business
then I’ll be very proud. I’ve worked hard to get where
I am today, which is why our apprenticeships don’t
just focus on teaching our students about engineerin
We also teach them about the commercial side of
running a business and try to instil a good work
ethic in them.”
Paul’s definitely a great person to demonstrate
how working hard and having faith in yourself can
be the key to success in business. A few years after
setting up the business, he took the decision to
invest in an expensive piece of CNC equipment that
he knew would benefit Rotec. But it cost more than
his house to buy and raising the money was difficult.
However, when he finally made the purchase it was
a defining point for the company. Paul explains,
“I realised that investing back in the company was
the only way to keep it moving forward and since
then, we’ve always strived to buy the best equipment
available. It means we’re able to provide an excellent
service to our customers and our products are
high quality.”
