Prime minister tours Burnley manufacturing facility

Prime minister Rishi Sunak was given a guided tour of VEKA plc's premises in Burnley where he learned more about the future of the UK manufacturing.

The tour was organised by Burnley MP and Lancashire Business View contributor Antony Higginbotham. VEKA is one of the town's largest employers.

The prime minister met with the board of directors to discuss the growth of UK manufacturing and the role that VEKA plays.

He then took a tour of the factory meeting members of the extrusion, maintenance and quality lab teams. An explanation of VEKA’s extrusion process followed by a demonstration of VEKA’s stringent quality testing and discussion about the positive use of their virgin and recycled compound in windows provided the prime minister a whistle stop tour of the business.

Neil Evans, VEKA managing director, said: “We were thrilled to host the British prime minister and have a chance to share what we do and how we do it as well as talk about the industry we operate in and the drivers of our growth.

"It was great to be able to introduce him to some of our people that make VEKA the business it is today.”

Antony Higginbotham MP added: "When people think of Burnley and business, they think of manufacturing. So, when it came to bringing the prime minister up to our neck of the woods, VEKA was my first port of call.

"It was brilliant for him to see first-hand the work done in Burnley by VEKA’s skilled technicians, which is then sent all over the country. We should never tire of shouting loudly about what we make and do locally, and for me this was another part of doing just that.”

Photography provided by Number 10.