When was Winton Engineering founded?
It was founded in 1984 by Mr Bill Winton, and the company was responsible for developing the Drive Line Power Take Off (DLPTO) system, which was given a worldwide patent in 1986. The business was acquired in 2015 by the Mattei Group, manufacturer and supplier of the air compressors driven by the Winton DLPTO since the early 1990s.
What do you do?
Winton Engineering is an innovative designer, manufacturer and installer of on-vehicle power solutions required by varying industries.
What does on-vehicle power mean?
Many people in a multitude of trades and businesses require compressed air, electric and hydraulic power that is mobile.
Many companies requiring such power still tow around heavy ancillary equipment to achieve their end goal. Whether it is as complex as breaking soil to replace gas, electric or water mains, or as simple as removing a nut from a wheel, all of the tools the end users require to complete the task in hand need power of some description.
Winton Engineering’s design and installation expertise enables the end user to mount compressors, generators and hydraulic pumps under a vehicle, using the power provided by a vehicle’s engine to drive these units – hence the term ‘on-vehicle power’.
Who uses the Winton system?
Regardless of the fact that our country, like most other countries throughout the world, has been badly hit by this ghastly virus, we all still relied on a smooth and efficient service from essential businesses such as our utility and supply chain companies, whether it be water, gas or electric, food distribution or breakdown roadside support vehicles. We needed them all to try to maintain some sense of normality. It is for these companies within their specialised fields that we have managed to maintain a throughput of new vehicles equipped with on-vehicle power systems, as well as the repair and support of existing fleets, all while still managing to maintain social distancing within governmental guidelines.
Who owns the company now?
Winton Engineering is owned by the Mattei Group with the ultimate parent company being Ing. Enea Mattei SpA based in Milan, Italy.
Mattei, an industrial compressor manufacturer with more than 100 years’ experience, is renowned for continuous investment in the development and improvement of its rotary vane compressor technology to ensure that it remains the industry leader in terms of energy efficiency and reliability.
Mattei’s strategic acquisition of Winton Engineering allows us to develop and grow the business with exciting new on-vehicle power solutions for both the UK and overseas markets.
Where are you based and how many people do you employ?
Based in Woking, Surrey, we employ around 35 people, with mechanical and electrical automotive engineering skillsets including mobile service engineers, all backed by a team of exceptionally competent administrative support staff.
How many mobile engineers do you have?
We originally started with five mobile service engineers. Thanks to a new partnership with Rivus Fleet Solutions, announced at the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC in April 2019, our team will ultimately consist of 51 mobile service engineers with additional access to 54 static garages and workshops – providing true nationwide coverage in support of our customers.
How is the business doing?
Like many within our industry and beyond, we have had to face the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed upon us. However, during these difficult times Winton Engineering has been able to remain operational in both production and service support for our customers, many of which are classed as essential services. The remainder of this year, at the very least, will be a testing time, as it will be for us all.
What keeps you positive?
As technology progresses, so do the solutions that Winton Engineering can offer. Even though it started with a simple generator and compressor installation, the ethos is ‘if it can be powered by an engine, we can probably find a solution’.
To this end we have gone far beyond the original concept created by Bill Winton, who is now enjoying his well-earned retirement, and even Bill would be impressed with where his old company has gone and what we are striving to accomplish in this very competitive market.
How is business looking for the future?
Having had a successful 2019, we were looking forward to a promising 2020. However we now know there will be many unexpected challenges to face over the coming months, due to the COVID-19 crisis. That said, we were already proactively looking at ways to ensure we can continue to show growth throughout this year and beyond.
We have investments planned to expand and enhance our production processes, while also bringing in new engineering talent to the business to help us develop our systems further, ensuring we can provide our customers with the best available technology for on-vehicle power.
Steve Packer, Business Development Manager – Winton Engineering
