Econ receives visit from Shetland gritter legend
Pictured are John Adamson and Jonathan Lupton
Econ Engineering recently received a special visitor – John Adamson, who travelled all the way from Shetland in Scotland to visit the firm.
John has been a gritter driver for the past 50 years for Shetland Islands Council, working across all 13 of Shetland’s populated islands.
The first Econ gritters came to Shetland in 1976, and over the years, John drove many different models and remembers some of Econ’s very first vehicles.
In the summer, John’s job at the council involved surface dressing of the roads, where the vehicles are transported between islands via ferry.
John and his wife Angela paid their first ever visit to Yorkshire this year, during which they called in on a surprise visit to come see the Econ Engineering factory in Ripon.
John was given a warm welcome by managing director Jonathan Lupton, and Fernando Sarmento de Alencar, maintenance manager at Econ, who conducted a special tour of the factory.
John said, “Fernando took the time to show me around this amazing factory, explain how things are made, and answer my many questions. I enjoyed being able to identify many of the pieces I saw lying around the factory as parts of the Econ vehicles I spent many happy years driving.”
John worked as a gritter driver for Shetland Islands Council from 1967, when he was just 17, right through to his retirement in 2016. A job interview of only five questions began his long and happy career on the roads.
Econ Engineering MD Jonathan Lupton said: “It’s always lovely to receive guests at the factory – especially those who have played their own role in Econ’s history of keeping Britain’s roads moving.
“We are thrilled to have hosted John during this visit and would happily welcome any other visitors of this kind. Please do get in touch with us if you have your own stories about driving our gritters!”
Still living in Shetland, John sees his friends from the council daily – he also puts his bus licence to good use, driving the local school bus every morning and afternoon.