Graham Cory, the Chief Executive of the British Horse Society, was taken on a guided tour of IWT Deeside where Ifor Williams Trailers make their horseboxes.

According to Mr Cory, his first visit to the factory on Deeside Industrial Park was a fascinating experience.

The company and the BHS regularly work closely together on health and safety matters.

The new horsebox is the flagship of the Ifor Williams Trailers range and was unveiled last year as part of company’s 50th anniversary.

They have applied the production standards of top car manufacturers in building the horsebox with flowing lines.

The design team even used the same test track as Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson to put the trailer through its paces.

Following his visit, Mr Cory said: "I was very impressed going around the assembly line, particularly by the care that’s taken with quality control.

"Everybody who works on the trailers or the horsebox has a real incentive to concentrate on quality and take ownership of what they’ve built.

"I’m sure that must create pride on the part of those people who actually make it."

"Wherever you go in the in the UK, whether in Cornwall, in Durham or in the top of Scotland you’ll see Ifor Williams trailers.

"The term Ifor Williams Trailers has always meant to me a quality product and everything I have seen here has borne out what I imagined in the first place.

"The whole story of the horsebox and the care that is taken in the design illustrates why horse owners generally have such a high regard for the product.

"You have to remember that their horse is so important to them - even if the horse doesn’t cost a lot never the less the horse is valuable to the person.

"Horses have a value beyond price for their owners which means that they’re going to ensure that the quality and safety of the transport are at the highest level possible."

"It doesn’t surprise me at all that the product testing was such an important part of the process."

"I find it very reassuring indeed and the fact that Ifor Williams Trailers retains its position right up at the top end of quality must be a consequence of testing and the care that goes into ensuring the quality of the product.

"We have an excellent relationship because just in the same that Ifor Williams Trailers has a reputation for quality in all that it does, the British Horse Society is a also a quality organisation.

"The standards of what we do are so important to us. We’re not going to let our standards slip and Ifor Williams Trailers is not going to let its standards slip - so this seems to be a marriage made in heaven."

Paul Watkins, the Business Operations Manager at IWT Deeside, was delighted they’d been given the opportunity to host Graham Cory’s visit.

He said: "It was a pleasure to welcome him to IWT Deeside, especially as he was such a knowledgeable and interested visitor.

"It was gratifying that he was impressed with the operation here and with the new horsebox of which we are very proud."

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News » Partnership is “marriage made in heaven”