The baton passes on at Borough
Current Borough Managing Director, David Coombes, joined his father’s firm just prior to David Scrivener joining and remembers his arrival: “David used to pick up the parts we had zinc plated, when he worked for local firm EK Cole. Given our one day turnaround, he became a regular visitor and we warmed quickly to his organised, pragmatic approach to problem solving.
“David has always been cool under pressure, which served him well as Works Manager, a position he occupied throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s. This was a period of significant change for Borough, as we developed the fledgling processes of electroplating and chrome plating on plastic, with the automotive industry in particular keen to exploit the weight saving opportunities it offered.
“As business boomed, with the car industry adopting more and more chrome-plated plastic, we needed to deliver a consistent service that met deadlines and kept the parts rolling. In his new role as Works Director, David Scrivener was responsible for keeping the machines running and the workforce happy; a role he fulfilled with his usual, unflappable style.
“It’s the end of an era, but I hope the promotion of my son Nick into the role, will see the start of a new, even more successful era. Nick has been with us for almost 25 years and has learned from a master, so I expect the transition to be a smooth one. I know David’s wit and wisdom will be missed by colleagues and customers alike, but I’m sure he’ll drop in every now and then to keep an eye on us.”
David Scrivener, remembers his days at Borough fondly: “the engineering world I leave has changed out of all recognition to the one I joined as a lad, back in the 60’s. We perfected the process for plating plastic in the ’70’s and I still remember the first parts we ever produced for Jaguar; headlamp surrounds for the XJS in 1975.
“Borough is an adaptable business, changing as dictated by the market, but continuing to deliver high quality products and services. At its peak, we were plating 70,000 mouldings every 24 hours for the mobile phone industry, but have now switched to mould an increasing amount of the parts we plate; the size and complexity of the mouldings has increased too.
“Everything is needed quicker, cheaper and to a higher quality these days, but having managed the works through periods of immense change and helped the business develop into one of Europe’s leading electroplater’s of plastics is a source of immense personal pride.
“Handing responsibility to Nick, also gives me great satisfaction; family businesses remain the bedrock of UK manufacturing and seeing the third generation of Coombes working its way to the top, ensures I can retire knowing the business I love so much is in safe hands for decades to come.”