Celebrating 75 years of manufacturing heritage

At McMenon Engineering Services you cannot help being inspired by the past – considering the manufacturing giants that made their home in West Cumbria over the last seven decades.

And this year, the rich heritage of 75 years of instrumentation manufacturing in West Cumbria will be celebrated at McMenon.

McMenon has only been in Workington for five years but the legacy it acquired from some of the biggest manufacturing names is one they are proud to be associated with and aim to continue.

The story began in 1947 as Fischer and Porter, a brand associated with an industry-leading range of flow measurement products, acquired Maryport-based Solway Flowraters.

Nine years later they moved to Salterbeck Trading Estate, in the factory where McMenon now calls home.

Fischer and Porter were acquired by Elsag Bailey Process Automation (EBPA) in 1994 .

Then consequently in 1999 they were taken over by global manufacturing giant ABB. They continued to produce instrumentation on the Salterbeck site until 2018, when McMenon acquired the Workington based business.

Pride in manufacturing heritage

‘Inspired by the past and motivated by the future’ is a McMenon motto, regarded highly by CEO Anand Puthran.

He is immensely proud of the manufacturing heritage in West Cumbria, in which his company is now playing its part.

“This is a rich heritage and timeline, which we are now proud to take our place in. Both Fischer & Porter and ABB were household names and that is an ambition I share for McMenon.

“We are continuing the fine tradition of manufacturing flow and temperature measurement instrumentation at our Workington base.

“But we are also diversifying our production into nuclear and renewables. And we are increasing our fabrication and pipework capabilities to leave our own part of the legacy for years to come.”

Some of McMenon’s current workforce began their careers with Fischer and Porter. They can look back over a number of years, changes within the factory and the industry as a whole.

That experience is invaluable to McMenon as it continues with new and exciting growth plans.

The past has certainly proved inspirational as McMenon paves its future.