HRH the Princess Royal Officially Opens Bray’s European Headquarters

Bray Controls (UK) Ltd, manufacturer of valves for the global flow control market, welcomed HRH The Princess Royal in February to officially open the recently completed £2.2 million expansion at its European headquarters in Inchinnan, Scotland.

During her tour of the new facility, the Princess met the 70-plus workforce, which is fundamental to the success of Bray Controls, including staff who have been with the company since it opened in Scotland in 1990 and new apprentices learning their trade at the Inchinnan plant. Craig Brown, Chairman and CEO of Bray International Inc, flew in from the Corporate Headquarters in Houston, Texas, especially for the Royal occasion.

George Crooks, Managing Director of Bray Controls in Europe, who accompanied the Princess during her visit, said: ‘We are honoured that The Princess Royal has officially opened our expanded facility, and met the people who have helped make it all possible. We boast a very loyal team of highly experienced employees, some of whom have stayed on past retirement age, and continue to offer their key skills - along with a management team all appointed through internal promotion. We are very proud of them all.’

‘At Inchinnan, we have created a larger, more modern working environment for our team that befits a European headquarters, with improved customer communications, increased inventory holdings and test capabilities. This comes at a time when our business is enjoying rapid growth, as we introduce new products and expand into new territories. The visit by The Princess Royal represents recognition of these achievements for our entire workforce.’

The Princess Royal was shown demonstrations on the Test Rig, which guarantees customers ‘packaged solutions’ that are fully factory set and tested ready for installation, and the most recent plant investment, the Vertical Lifting Module, which saves time and space and affords complete stock management.

A division of the family owned Texas-based Bray International Inc, the Inchinnan facility has increased from 27,000 sq ft to 37,000 sq ft, with the potential for a further 10,000 sq ft to be added to the site in the future. Employees in France, Germany, Holland, Poland, Russia and Dubai, all report into the Scottish-based European headquarters.

Success can be attributed to a strategy of targeting specific growing economies and expanding into new markets in the Middle East and Africa. The introduction of new products to an already fully integrated and comprehensive catalogue of valves, actuators and accessories, has also helped place Bray Controls at the forefront of the global butterfly valve and flow control market.

Bray Controls
Tel: 0141 812 5199
www.bray.com

Published: 13th May 2014