Farmers of the Future
It is not every day that a group of 30 farmers visit your premises but that’s exactly what happened at Silicone Engineering when the business opened its doors and welcomed 30 young farmers all from the Young Farmers Association based in Chipping, Lancashire who are affiliated members of The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs for an evening of learning and discussion on everything silicone.
Being a leading manufacturer of silicone dairy tube, the business was approached by YFC member Peter Holden, a young local farmer to see if we would be interested in an open evening to share knowledge and benefits of silicone materials used on farm. The YFC actively encourage their members to visit businesses involved in the dairy or agriculture sector to gain a broader understanding of the supply chain.
The group were invited to attend as part of an evening session hosted by Managing Director, Paul Kinsella and Marketing Manager, Simon Holmes. The evening started with a presentation on Silicone Engineering as a business covering its history, future aims and market sectors that it sells into, which led into an in-depth discussion on the dairy industry and how Silicone Engineering fit into the chain. The presentation was followed by a full tour of the factory paying special attention to the businesses’ specialised Food and Beverage cell where the silicone dairy tubing is manufactured. The group got to see the dairy line in action with a full explanation of Silicone Engineering’s processes and state of the art equipment and how this contributes to the high quality of the tubing.
Also in attendance with the YFC group was local dairy farmer Jim Holden who said of the evening “The factory tour and seeing silicone being manufactured was the highlight of the trip. Also gaining a broader understanding about the world of silicone and the different applications where silicone can be used was very interesting. Overall it was an excellent visit.
When asked about the importance of the younger generation of farmers connecting with their industry Jim went on to say “It is good for the young farmers (and also young people in general) to understand more about the world of business and how this ties into the dairy and agriculture sector. Besides gaining an understanding of how silicone can play a part in the dairy/agricultural industry, it was good for the young farmers to witness how a manufacturing business operates and being able to see the product actually being manufactured.
As a business Silicone Engineering were delighted to be asked to host such an evening which gave the opportunity to connect with the end users of the silicone materials and the farmers of the future. By gaining an understanding of the common issues experienced by the farmers when using dairy tubing allows Silicone Engineering to consistently improve the suraSil™DS range of dairy tubing.
The evening ended with a question and answer session where the group had chance to ask any questions they had regarding the dairy tubing production and even the business operation in general which were all warmly welcomed.
Managing Director of Silicone Engineering Paul Kinsella enthused “I was delighted with the inquisitiveness and positive attitude demonstrated from these young people at the outset of their working lives, and after seeing such engagement and interest from this event I am keen for our business to host similar community inspired events in the future”.
Feedback from the evening was very encouraging and it was a real positive for the business to provide young local farmers of the future an insight into the silicone world.
To learn more about our suraSil™DS range of dairy tubing and to watch our diary video visit our Dairy and Agriculture Industry page
To learn more about The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs please follow the link below.
Chipping Young Farmers, based in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire
From left, Peter Holden, Paul Kinsella, Jim Holden and Clare Holden.