The £28m, family-run business employs more than 200 people at its headquarters in Ripon, where it builds a range of gritters and spreaders – 80% of all the salt spreaders used in the UK are made by Econ.
Ahead of the autumn roadshows, Econ’s golden gritter is appearing at the Cold Comfort trade show this week, in Harrogate, before returning to Econ’s showroom at its factory.
The company says it has seen “a dramatic upsurge” in orders and is recruiting for more staff.
“We’re really proud of the team and their work, and we recruit people from all over the local area in any number of roles, from welders and mechanics to designers, engineers and administrative and accounts people,” says Andrew Lupton, Econ’s sales director (pictured, left, with fellow director Jonathan Lupton).
He adds: “The Golden Gritter is unique, and is a symbol of what we hope will be another 50 years as a vibrant and innovative manufacturing business.
“We currently produce 80% of the gritters operating on British roads, and with our fleet of 750 spreaders, we also run the country’s largest hire fleet, which puts us at the forefront of Britain’s winter maintenance operations.”