Mick Lewis and Jim Snell

WELDING experts Mick Lewis and Jim Snell have celebrated a milestone at Ipswich-based grounds maintenance machine makers Ransomes Jacobsen after notching up 40 years with the firm.

Mr Lewis, a welder in the fabrication section, and weld cell supervisor Mr Snell were presented with long service awards, along with seven of their colleagues.

Also up for an award was Alan Flewitt, the company's international financial accountant, who celebrated 25 years with the company after working in different sections of the finance department, starting as a trainee accountant. He rose through the ranks to become group chief accountant at Ransomes and took on his present post after the sale of the firm to Textron in 1998. He met and married Sue, the company's financial accountant, in May 2002 and they are expecting their first child early in 2008.

Senior payroll officer Owen Burch, Tony Balaam of the customer care department, main tractor assembly technician Shirley Stephens, inventory and warehouse Domenic O'Brien, engineering manager Christian Clifford and senior design engineer Adrian Kindred were also presented with 25-year long service awards.

Mr Clifford and Mr Kindred both joined as apprentices on the same day in 1982 and spent their first year in Ransomes' training school.

Ransomes Jacobsen managing director David Withers said: “I was delighted to be called upon to present these awards recognising the loyalty and outstanding service that these individuals have given to the company.

“It only goes to strengthen my belief that we have a vibrant manufacturing company here in the heart of East Anglia, offering career opportunities and long-term employment to the people of Ipswich.

“Having celebrated our 175th anniversary of mower manufacturing in Ipswich earlier this year, I would like to think that we will continue to offer employment opportunities for the next 175.”