A skilled metalworker has received a 50-year long service award for his commitment and dedication to precision engineering at a local manufacturing company.
Barlick born and bred, Mick Parker left Barnoldswick Modern school to take a cast iron moulder’s apprenticeship at Ouzledale Foundry in 1968.
Mick spent more than forty years working in the foundry, precision-moulding patterns for Firemaster grates, Montrose solid fuel heating stoves and ESSE cooking stove fronts and hot plates.
The proud father of two children: Sarah & Simon; and four grandchildren, lives at Moss Side, Barnoldswick – just two minutes’ walk from Ouzledale Foundry.
Mick continues to build ESSE wood burning, electric, gas and oil cookers at the Barnoldswick stove factory and over the last decade, his unrivalled experience has been put to good use in monitoring quality control of products coming off the production lines at ESSE.
With his co-workers gathered on the shop floor, two generations of the Ashby family, owners of ESSE Engineering Ltd, made a presentation to Mick to thank him for his dedication and commitment to his work.
ESSE managing director Martin Ashby extended his personal thanks to Mick for his unstinting support of the heating and cooking stove manufacturing business and said he looked forward to working with him for many years to come.
Thanking the Ashby family and his colleagues for the award, Mick said: “You know that I am a man of few words, but I would like to thank you, Martin, your dad and Jeremy. I continue to enjoy working with you and I have made a lot of good friends here. Now let’s get back to work!”
