A North East engineering firm is celebrating a significant anniversary as it marks half a century in business.
K Home International was established by Ken Home in Thornaby in 1973, and since then has worked on projects across the world, offering engineering design and project management services for industrial plants.
Following Ken’s retirement from the day-to-day running of the business, it is now run by his sons Andrew and Michael.
Michael said: “Celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary is a great achievement, and one of our main sources of pride is having given employment to so many people over the years.
“Dad established the company on firm foundations and set up a culture based on long-term success rather than short-term gain and it’s really paid off.
“To reach 50 years in business through several recessions, the banking crisis and a pandemic is a tribute and testament to all our staff throughout five decades.”
Highlights of the past 50 years include winning the Queen’s Award for Export in 1998, in 2003 Ken was awarded an OBE and in 2005 the firm also won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Ken added: “In many ways, things have not changed since I launched the company as K Home Engineering in 1973. We are still based in the office we moved into in 1977, we still have the same culture and philosophy, and we are still owned and managed as a family firm.
“However, the business has grown in size and provides a wider range of engineering services to meet our clients’ requirements.
“In 1973, all our work was done on drawing boards. We got our first computer-aided design machine in 1988; my philosophy has always been that we needed to keep up to date with the latest design technology to ensure we could provide the best service to our clients. This investment has continued as technology develops and allows us to provide services in competition with companies many times our size.”
To celebrate the occasion, the company is holding a family fun day for staff and their families in the summer.
For more information on K Home and its services, visit khomeint.com