Record demand for its innovative Claydon Opti-Till seeding system has led progressive family-owned manufacturer Claydon Yield-o-Meter Ltd to further expand its West Suffolk factory. The completion of a new purpose-built building at Wickhambrook will more than double production capacity and create additional jobs.
Supported by a £267,400 Growing Business Fund Grant from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP), the project will help the 40-year-old company to meet an exponential increase in orders. These are expected to grow further in 2023 as the business works with its dealer and distributor partners in existing and new markets to develop sales of its Evolution and Hybrid drills, Straw Harrows, TerraStar light cultivators and TerraBlade inter-row hoes.
“Unlike many other companies in the UK farm machinery sector, which import machinery made overseas, we design, test and manufacture all our products from scratch, employ local staff and benefit the UK businesses that supply us,” CEO Jeff Claydon said.
Mr Claydon developed the Opti-Till Direct Strip Seeding System in 2001 to reduce costs without adversely impacting output, thereby securing the future of his family’s farm at a time when cereal prices were at rock bottom. Today, farmers worldwide are saving up to £250/ha on the cost of establishing combinable crops across the broadest range of soil types and conditions using Opti-Till, which combines stubble management and strip seeding techniques that have been proven in the past 20 years.
Compared with traditional methods, the system enables farming businesses to operate much more efficiently, profitably and sustainably, using just 10 per cent of the fuel required for a conventional plough-based system. There are also significant yield, soil fertility and environmental benefits.
A European market leader in direct strip seeding technology, Claydon has seen demand for its products grow ten-fold since 2010. With many markets still at an embryonic stage and its distribution network growing rapidly, the company expects sales to grow exponentially during 2023, despite the undoubted challenges. Like many other UK companies, Claydon has to deal with the ongoing adverse effects of Brexit, which has made transporting its products to Europe considerably more difficult, time-consuming and expensive.
The new building is the second stage in a three-part business development project agreed with NALEP in 2015. Measuring 36m x 36m and 8m to the eaves, the new 1,296 square metre clear-span building occupies the footprint of derelict former farm buildings. It features four 3.2t overhead cranes that will better utilise the space and allow it to operate efficiently.
Claydon’s focus now is recruiting additional staff to fill the range of vacancies available at its Wickhambrook site. With the requirement for staff in the assembly and yard area alone set to triple in 2023, the company is looking to fill opportunities across all sectors of its business, from design, procurement and sales positions to welding, painting, fabrication, and assembly roles.
