Council leader highlights North Devon’s world class manufacturing

North Devon can compete with the best in the world, when it comes to manufacturing, says North Devon Council leader Ian Roome after a visit to TDK-Lambda UK in Ilfracombe.

Roome, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for North Devon, made a tour of Britain's largest designer and manufacturer of standard and configurable AC-DC and DC-DC power supplies with Tim Puttick, the company’s Manufacturing Director and current Chair of the North Devon Manufacturers Association.

“It’s great to see these highly skilled teams in a state-of-the-art facility, making equipment that’s sold all around the world,” says Roome. “Their commitment to excellence and technological innovation shows that products that are ‘Made in Ilfracombe’ can compete with the very best.

“As a major employer in our area, TDK-Lambda UK is also playing its part in creating skilled jobs and bolstering the local economy – something which is needed now more than ever.

Roome and Puttick also discussed the challenges facing the company, with the housing shortage and recruitment being priority issues.

“At North Devon Council, we are working hard to tackle the housing issues facing our area,” says Roome. “We’re supporting the various Community Land Trusts who are aiming to build affordable rental homes, including the Trust in Ilfracombe, and we’re also looking at various sites to build key worker housing across the district.

“We need more places for people to live, so that great local companies like TDK-Lambda UK and public sector bodies like schools and hospitals can hire the people they need. I’m really glad to have had the chance to talk to Tim because, for me, having the public and private sectors working together brings real benefits to both sides.”