Behind the scenes at Pinchbeck's Winyard Engineering - the local success story that works with the likes of Fortnum and Mason and Walmart
From humble beginnings to working with Fortnum and Mason and Walmart - we go behind the scenes of a thriving business on our doorsteps that you might well not know about...
As you tuck into your favourite foods or treat yourself to a special cake, you’re probably not thinking about how it was made, packaged and put together.
However, when you learn that a Pinchbeck based company has probably played a pivotal role in your cake jar or pork pie’s creation, you might think about it a bit more.
For more than 50 years, Winyard Engineering has been specialising in making machinery for the likes of Fortnum and Mason and national supermarkets, while also working with factories, including Bakkavor and Greencell.
It all started as a one man band when director Gordon Winyard set up shop on Holbeach Road in Spalding.
“It was just me and the labrador,” he said. “I was engineering at VeganTune down Cradge Bank and decided to do things myself and started making machines. It was very hard work for a start but found myself better off specialising in the local food industry repairs.
“That’s where it all started. David (Winyard) joined me in 1978 and I brought a couple of people in and took on the Holbeach Road site, which we expanded a couple of times but we outgrew the size of the plot.
“We had already started designing our own food machinery, a couple of years before we moved and then we decided we wanted to expand.”
The business moved to its current home, on Wardentree Lane in Pinchbeck, in 1998 and business grew even more.
Gordon said: “The demand for the equipment we make has gone national and global - we’ve sent things to Sydney in Australia and Italy.
“So many people don’t know what we do here.
“But factories like Bakkavor and Woodheads rely on us for our breakdown work too. We don’t shout about what we do, but there’s a lot to us here.”
A lot of skilled engineers are now retiring but Gordon’s son Matthew, who joined the business in 2004, is working with colleges and schools to encourage youngsters to get involved.
He said: “It’s hard work getting new people to join but the uptake on apprenticeships in engineering is actually getting better.
“Last year and the year before I couldn’t find any staff but it’s getting better now. I go along to careers fairs and talk at schools like University Academy Holbeach.
“We are helping Boston College with their T levels which involves a student completing 45 days of work experience in order to pass.
“Everyone has got to start somewhere but a lot of places won’t accept work experience students. Without that experience there wouldn’t be any engineers.”
Gordon added: “They learn hand skills here - it can all be taught, but many of the people who’ve been here would admit that they learn greater skills actually getting involved with the work.
“The hands skills aren’t really there but it can all be taught.”
While engineering has always been seen as a more male dominated profession, Matthew is also hoping more women will look to joining.
He said: “We’d love to get more females in but it’s very difficult getting women into engineering.
“It’s a male dominated industry but for no reason. It’s good to have female members on the team for a number of reasons, especially as they often offer an alternative approach to problem solving.”
Problem solving is a huge part of what the team at Winyards do. From designing machinery, or fixing broken items - and even working on logistics issues, there’s always something which needs everyone’s experiences and insight.
Gordon said: “We all have different skills.
“You’ve got to be flexible with your skills because when we are problem solving, it all bounces off each of us and we come up with the ideas together.
“Everything starts by putting pencil to paper, then Matt makes the design using computer software - it’s a lengthy process at the beginning and we really get into the nitty gritty of it.
“The customer wants to see a full design before they buy.
Matt added: “Just before the Covid pandemic began, a factory in Italy wanted machines which produce courgetti.
“We sold them six machines and all of the courgetti sold in every Walmart in America and Canada is made in those machines then sent over there.
“However, we were installing them just as lockdowns came in so it was a battle to get our team out of Italy in time.”
“Mary Berry has a lot to answer for!” added Gordon.
This is just one of many notable projects Winyards has worked on. In fact, Winyards is likely to have had a hand in many of the foods you regularly buy from the supermarket in.
David said: “We’ve made equipment to shove cream into profiteroles, a machine which shakes the fondant topping on a bakewell tart to ensure it reaches the end of the pastry, the machinery used to put together cakes in jars, pizza machines... it’s endless what we have done.”
Matt added: “We made the F and M imprint for the Fortnum and Mason pork pies too.
“It’s quite impressive what we have done.”
Looking to the future, it’s hoped that Winyard Engineering will continue to grow in every aspect of its business, with the younger members of the team taking more control at the helm.
Gordon added: “I am proud of what we have achieved in 50 years. It’s a family set up really.
“We have three people who have been working here for over 40 years and I think that shows that people like to be here.
“Everyone is needed here.”
