ETG expands and invests with two new additions to the Wellesbourne team

As a business, Engineering Technology Group (ETG) have demonstrated extraordinary growth – and with that we’ve seen revolutionary change to our internal culture, growing teams and ground-breaking new projects demanding the need for vast expansion.

One of the latest examples of this new expansion is the introduction of two new additions to the Wellesbourne team: Ben Pope and Paul Wilkinson, both Technical Engineers with diverse backgrounds bringing a selection of skills to the diverse ETG palette.

Our marketing team sat down with the two new starters over a coffee to get to know them, and get to grips with their insights on ETG and engineering:

Welcome to ETG, gentlemen! Tell us a bit about yourselves?

 BEN: “My name’s Ben Pope, I’m from Bristol, I’m 28, I’m a big football fan – Bristol Rovers! I live with my girlfriend, and we have a bulldog called Winston. In my free time I like socialising, having a few drinks, that sort of thing. I like snowboarding too, I head to the Italian Alps for that – only started that last year but it is really fun.”

PAUL: “My name’s Paul Wilkinson, I’m 28, and I’m from Nuneaton. I’m getting married in August, me and my partner spend a lot of time seeing friends, and we have a 7-month-old black Labrador named Ted, and we’ve been in our first house for 2 years now, and we’ve done a lot of work to that which has been great.”

Ben Pope, Technical Engineer

 How did you both get into engineering?

 BEN: “I started as an apprentice at 17 at Precision Profiles in Bristol, and I stayed there for 7 years. I went from a three-axis machinist to a five-axis CNC milling machinist in the aviation division. So that’s working with Aeroglass, Rolls Royce, all that kind of thing.  After that I moved to Renishaw for career development. I was a development machinist there, I learnt CAD, CAM, drawing techniques, machining techniques, different machinery, CMMs, probes, before I left to join here.”

PAUL: “I lived in Cyprus for two years after leaving school, but decided to come back by myself and look for an apprenticeship. I came across engineering and did my apprenticeship in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. I was working in a very small workshop throughout my apprenticeship.

When I finished that, I knew that I wanted to move on to something bigger and better. I was approached by the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, and they offered me a position as Research Technician, and I worked with companies like Lockheed Martin, Rolls Royce, F1 teams – you name it they all came in. That gave me a lot of experience with different technologies, like additive, 3D printing, milling, turning, lasers, robotics, all sorts of things.”

What attracted you to join ETG?

 BEN: “I was attracted to apply for a role at ETG because of the career development. They offer lots of training, there’s lots of machinery and different controls to learn. There’s a lot of different CAM systems and CAM system licences that you can get involved with and learn. There are good opportunities to travel, too – and a lot of personal development opportunities, and obviously, I think they’re a great company to work for! Everyone knows about ETG and it’s been great so far.”

PAUL:  “A former colleague who now works for ETG had recommended me to apply. It’s worked out really well for me. My last job meant a lot of travelling and I was over in Europe a lot and generally just around the country so this job has given me the opportunity not only to travel but also to get myself grounded with some interesting projects. This role has just come along at the right time for me, it’s a great team here, and there’s a lot of knowledge to draw upon.”

Paul Wilkinson, Technical Engineer

What are you most looking forward to getting involved with?

 BEN: “I’m looking forward to getting involved with the customers here at ETG. It’s a great chance to put yourself out there, see different businesses and machines, and just get a chance to see what they do. There’s a lot of knowledge I’m looking forward to picking up with the different companies we’ll get to see.”

PAUL: “One of my personal traits is that I’ll keep looking for new technology, not because I get bored, but because I’m interested in new tech and development. My role here at ETG opens that door for me and I’m really looking forward to having all this technology available to me.”

 Do you want to join the team? The Engineering Technology Group is the UK’s leading independent machine tool distributor offering manufacturers’ a comprehensive sales, service and engineering support network from a single source.

Submit your CV here – we’ll review your skillset and if we have a suitable position, one of our team will contact you.