NOT just every working day but every job is different at Spooner Industries’ Ilkley factory.

The 83-year-old business, originally called Spooner Dryer and Engineering Co, was established in 1932 by innovative engineer, William Wycliffe Spooner and initially produced industrial drying machines for the local textile industry. Spooner’s revolutionary air flotation technology patented by Mr Spooner has been developed and refined by the company which now serves customers in sectors including industrial food manufacturers, steel and paper.

Demand for its bespoke equipment continues to grow around the world – driving the urgent need for more space only five years after Spooner moved into a purpose-built £4 million factory that was expected to meet its needs for many years to come.

In that time Spooner has grown from 90 to 160 employees and increased turnover from £7 million to £30 million – and is targeting sales of £40 million within five years.

“Our rate of growth in the period means that we are now bursting at the seams and need to increase our factory space by 50 per cent,” said managing director and part owner Mike Brook, a former mining engineer who joined the company 16 years ago.

Spooner is currently running day and night shifts to fulfil existing orders with plans to increase factory space and add more workers. Export sales account for 70 per cent of output to countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and United States as well as the EU.

Having started as a private business, Spooner was floated in late 1960s and has been owned by various groups until 2006 when Mike and Richard Summers, chairman and majority shareholder, took it back into private ownership.

In 2000 it also re-entered the bread and food sector – with which its ovens have become synonymous. A “Spooner” is to large bakeries what a “Hoover” is to the vacuum cleaner market.

Spooner supplies leading names including Allied Bakers, Warburtons, Hovis, Greggs, Jacksons, Kelloggs and the Kraft-owned Mondelez along with major groups in the United States and the Middle East.

Food processing once again accounts for about 50 per cent of Spooner’s turnover. Ovens range in size up to five metres wide and 60 metres long and producing thousands loaves an hour as well as cereal bars, breakfast cereals and pet food. Hundreds of kilometres of sausage casings are also processed on Spooner lines.

Spooner also develops machinery for the paper, converting (coatings. drying) metals sectors along with kit which improves the processing environment by burning airborne pollutants which are put back into processes, making them greener and more efficient by retaining energy.

Its thermal paper dryers handle material ranging from paper for till rolls and tea bags up to wet paper several metres wide and travelling at 80mph which is floated on a bed of hot air.

Although the withdrawal of financial incentives has dented demand for solar panels, Spooner hopes to see it revive after developing drying equipment for one leading glass manufacturer which reduced the operation from seven minutes to 40 seconds.

At the heart of Spooner’s operations is its research and development and testing facility – which Mike Brook plans to expand as the company finds more space - ideally on a package of land currently owned by Tesco next to the existing factory, “The R&D and testing function is at the heart of what we do as a custom designer and builder of non standard equipment.

“We are a problem solver and do not make a standard range of equipment “We do joint developments with customers and they need to trust us to share knowledge to enable us to improve their processes. Integrity and confidentiality is key and helps win us business and I think we’re very good at that. Keeping things secret is valued by customers.

“Our staff includes a high ratio of designers and engineers to manufacturing staff which ensure we can be innovative and work in tandem with customers to meet their needs.

“The R&D area includes an element of Heath Robinson trial and error work – similar to what Mr Spooner did originally – to advanced and highly confidential developments,” said Mike.

Spooners continued growth has been aided by having customers in diverse sectors and geographically spread.

Mike said: “It means that if demand from one sector dips, then others will be strong .

“We avoided the worst of the recession which badly dented much capital investment as the bakery sector had a spurt of investing in new processes and equipment.”

The visit of Prime Minster David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne to Spooner earlier this month provided an opportunity to promote the firm’s technical expertise and its commitment o apprenticeships and training.

The politicians met employees from the youngest apprentices to directors .

The PM and Chancellor learned that 40 per cent of the workforce (64 people) had started at Spooner either as apprentices or graduate trainees.

They were also impressed by the fact that Spooner has many long serving employees, including two who have completed more than 50 years’ service, which ensures it can safeguard its skills base for the future.

After meeting the apprentices, the VIP visitors tried out metal folding on a new CNC press – one of many technological requirements for making a Spooner oven.

Andy Carlton, who demonstrated the process to the PM, said Mr Cameron was interested to hear about working hours and shift patterns and the logistical challenges of transporting and exporting large pieces of industrial plant and machinery.

The largest single export Spooner has made was to California in 2010. Delivered in three sections, each section measured 11.5m long by 5.6m wide by 3.2m high.

Teams of Spooner engineers are deployed to customer sites worldwide to receive the deliveries, unpack, install and commission the equipment, ensuring the machinery is set up correctly and that process performance criteria is met.

Operating and maintenance training is also provided during the commissioning and start-up phases of each project.

The Prime Minister said: “Spooner is a great example of the kind of ‘advanced manufacturing’ businesses this Government is trying to get behind.”

Mike Brook said: “We were very proud to be selected to showcase our business to the Prime Minster and Chancellor.

“Their interest and enthusiasm for our ambitions and achievements to date will resonate within the company for a long time to come. Despite our worldwide success, we remain committed to growth, Ilkley and the local community and hope our much needed expansion can be accommodated here.”