Shaun Gunn, 25 years a Toolmaker at Martins

It was on January 2nd 1991 that a young toolmaker called Shaun Gunn started at Martins Rubber, complete with a mohican haircut and a loud motorcycle.

Having been interviewed for the job by Adam Hooper after an introduction from a local landlord, Shaun joined the business at a time when our long served toolmaker Joe Kijanski had already passed the age of 65 and had begun to work part time. Since toolmaking in-house was a key part of the business, it was essential that we retained and enhanced our capabilities in that area, and Shaun soon made an impact. His strong traditional craft skill and training was allied to a “can-do” mindset, and an ability to think laterally and come up with novel solutions to customer challenges. Whilst Joe continued to work part time for the company for as long as he wished – which turned out to be a further remarkable 23 years – Shaun embraced new technology, initially with us investing in 2D CAD and 3 axis CNC milling machines, and latterly with class leading new technology DMU 5 axis machinery, full Solidworks CAD and Hypermill CAM packages. This new technology has vastly increased the scope of work that we have the capability to undertake at Martins, and Shaun continues to progress with developing his skills whilst still using traditional methods where appropriate. Running a busy department and dealing with short leadtime customer needs and ever more challenging product designs keeps Shaun and his team on their toes, and we look forward to Shaun and the toolmaking team continuing to push the boundaries. Adam Hooper Date 03/01/2015

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