Member Article

Goldthorpe furnace maker calls time on illustrious career spanning four decades

A Barnsley man has called time on a career spanning four decades that has seen him recognised as one of the UK’s leading fabricators of industrial-sized metal furnaces.

Over the course of his illustrious career, 55-year-old Pete Smith, who lives in Goldthorpe, has made many large-scale furnaces, bought and used by metal refineries all over the world to melt and recover valuable metals.

His specialist skills have been put to good use by the likes of British Coal and British Steel and most recently by Wakefield-based pyrometallurgical engineering company Inprotec, where he has worked for the last six years.

His invaluable contribution to Inprotec was marked by MD Chris Oldroyd and his colleagues, with Pete presented with a gold watch and champagne on his final day (Thursday 19 December) in recognition of his service.

Commenting on Pete’s contribution, Chris said: “Pete is a unique talent and it has been an absolute privilege to have him here as part of the team over the course of the last six years. His craftsmanship is second to none, with his furnaces lauded the world over. He will be hugely missed, but we wish him a very long and happy retirement, he certainly deserves it.”

Inprotec is a family-run engineering business which started in 1977 as G.A. Oldroyd, named after its founder, Garry. In 2010, Garry’s son, Chris, took over the reins and renamed the business Inprotec as part of a rebrand, with the company moving to a bespoke manufacturing facility in Normanton shortly afterwards. It specialises in the design and supply of pyrometallurgical process plant used to recover lead and precious metals and works with clients all over the world.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Thompson .