Companies toast big milestones

Two East Ayrshire firms will this week celebrate milestone birthdays.

Sister companies Dustacco Engineering Ltd and Watermiser Ltd, both from Newmilns, mark their 50th and 45th years of trading respectively.

The firms were founded by mechanical engineer, Morris Somerville, who began working from his Glasgow flat in 1966.

Back then, his primary focus was on dust control, ventilation and air conditioning.

In 1972, he relocated to the current site in Newmilns where he built a small workshop which soon designed and manufactured water cooling towers.

These were brand- named “Watermiser” and initially manufactured in- house by Dustacco before setting up the standalone firm.

Watermiser’s technique of using sheet metal was later refined to use glass reinforced plastic ( GRP), with Morris leading the bid to develop the “best cooling tower in the world”.

Today, Dustacco is an established pipework and mechanical services provider, covering a wide range of industries such as pharmaceutical, petrochemical, food and drink, to utilities sectors such as energy, water and waste water.

Watermiser is the leading forced draught GRP cooling tower manufacturer in the UK, with towers having gone as far as the Middle East and Africa.

Both companies continue to be owned and operated by the Somerville family, with Morris’ daughter Alison as managing director since 2003.

The workforce currently numbers 60 with Dustacco boasting three apprentices and Watermiser two.