The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
£14m investment by fuel pumps group
140 new roles being created as US Group Dover Fueling Solution moves to expands its Dundee base
A long-established Dundee petrol pump manufacturer has revealed plans to create nearly 150 new jobs in the city.
Tokheim UK is currently building a £14 million extension at its site in West Pitkerro Industrial Estate.
The facility - which exports its pumps to numerous countries - is part of the world’s leading fuel retail equipment companies, Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS).
It is the outstanding performance of the Tayside workforce which has led to this massive new investment.
There are currently around 400 permanent and 100 temporary staff at the Dundee manufacturing centre, and they will soon be joined by another 140 colleagues - 100 permanent and 40 temporary.
By early next year, there will be a record workforce of around 640 people at the site.
The current factory spans 90,000sqft and the extension will add another 45,000sqft.
This total manufacturing space will be huge - the equivalent of several football pitches.
The imminent boost to workforce numbers comes at the same time as the Dundee enterprise gets a name change.
The Tokheim business will officially become Dover Fueling Solutions UK in the coming month, but the Tokheim brand name will still live on.
DFS was founded only recently by its US parent group Dover, a diversified global manufacturer.
The group made four acquisitions last year in the retail and commercial fuelling sector, including the Tokheim petrol pump business and its rival Wayne Fueling Systems, and is now combining them all into DFS.
Ken Scobie, operations director at the Dundee base, told Business Matters: “Our team here keeps on putting in an incredible performance, and this is recognised by our owners.
“Success in today’s business world is all about being able to move fast, adapt and diversify - to give our customers exactly what they want, when they want it.
“That is what we continually aim to achieve in Dundee.
“Our workers have a huge appetite for continuous improvement, a passion for innovation and an absolute dedication to servicing our customers.”
Mr Scobie said it was more than 15 years ago when the Tokheim site in Dundee first adopted “lean” manufacturing - a systematic method for waste minimisation without sacrificing productivity.
This has developed into the more general culture of continuous improvement.
Mr Scobie added: “Dundee is in the top three best-performing sites among the 230 Dover manufacturing sites worldwide.
“For example, the typical time to assemble a petrol pump here today is 30% of what it took in 2001.
“We are recognised by Dover group as a centre of excellence, which means we are getting regular visits from other companies in the organisation to see our continuous-improvement model and how they can improve their efficiency.”
But health and safety remains a priority at the Tayside plant and is still the key performance indicator.
Mr Scobie said: “We are delighted to report that we achieved a full 12 months of no lost-time incidents in August 2017 - in the past, we used to have around 10 such incidents annually.”
The Dundee facility has come a long way since it was founded in 1983 as Dunclare Dispensers, with an initial workforce of around 50.
Mr Scobie added: “We are proud of our history and what the business has achieved over the decades.
“Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be many success stories in UK manufacturing these days, but I am proud to say we are one of them.
“However, in today’s business world, there is no time to rest on your laurels which is why we place so much emphasis on continuous improvement.
“We are one of the largest privatesector employers in Dundee and our achievements are not just good for ourworkforce, they are a boost for the whole Tayside economy and everyone living in the area.”