Member Article

Guy builds on a proud family tradition

Guy Armitage has been appointed the managing director of the award-winning York Handmade Brick Company, based at Alne, near Easingwold.

Guy, aged 39, is the sixth generation of the Armitage family to work in the brick industry, a record which dates back to 1824. He takes over as managing director from his father David, who remains chairman of York Handmade.

Educated at Edinburgh University, where he obtained a 2:1 in agricultural economics, Guy has been IT manager and, more recently, operations director of the company for nine years, previously working as a business analyst for HBOS in Leeds.

He is a keen sportsman and was the senior cross-country winner at Radley College in Oxfordshire, where one of his contemporaries was the England cricketer Andrew Strauss. He is also an accomplished point-to-point rider.

Guy, who is a past president of the International Clay Technology Association (ICTA), lives with his wife Lucy and their two children at Husthwaite, near Easingwold.

David Armitage, the chairman of York Handmade, commented: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Guy as the managing director of York Handmade. We have a tremendously loyal and hard-working team here, of which Guy is a crucial part.

“I have been managing director of the company since 1988, when York Handmade was founded, and feel it is now time for a change. I will remain as chairman, with special responsibility for finance, sales and marketing, but Guy will be running the factory on a day-to-day basis.

“Guy’s appointment comes in the wake of one of our most successful years. In 2015 we had a turnover of £2.5 million, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year, and we now employ 30 staff. We also won a major award for our work at Dumfries House in Scotland in the Brick Development Association’s awards, the Oscars of the brick industry,” he added.

Guy Armitage commented: “This is a very proud time for me. I have loved every minute of my time at York Handmade, even though the period between 2008 and 2012 saw a massive slump in the construction industry and put huge pressure on the smaller independent brick-making firms across the UK. Indeed many didn’t survive.

“We pulled through and I am delighted to say the company is prospering again. It is my job to ensure that this progress is maintained and enhanced. I feel honoured to do this, because York Handmade reintroduced the art of brick-making to the Vale of York and we now run the most modern small brick-making factory in Britain. It is a privilege to work here,” he added.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .