Jonathan Lupton started out power-washing muck spreaders when he joined Econ Engineering aged 15 in 1983.

Being one of three sons of founder Bill Lupton, he was always likely to rise through the ranks.

But it has been quite a journey. Mr Lupton has laid sand on The Mall in London during one of the late Queen’s jubilees and overseen the growth of a business that started in a farmyard barn 50 years ago to one that now employs 250 staff and has a turnover of £44 million.

Econ sells and leases gritters, salt spreaders and pothole-fixing hotboxes to local authorities and private contractors.  As the firm likes to say, ‘our fame is spreading’. It’s no idle boast: Econ is Ripon’s biggest employer and has 85% of the winter maintenance market in Britain as well as selling into eastern Europe.

It manufactures the machines at a nine-acre factory on the outskirts of the city, where the workforce includes a robot welder.  Apart from the chassis, all components are made here. It’s like a mini-Steel City where plates of alloy are cut and moulded into the gritters and snow ploughs that keep Britain’s roads moving in winter, including here in North Yorkshire.

Last year Econ opened a £7 million site in Sowerby, near Thirsk to hold its burdgeoning 1,000-strong fleet. It also has small depots in Cardiff in Wales and Alloa in Scotland.

Econ’s new site at Sowerby

This local success story is rooted in humble — and at times slightly zany — origins. Founder Bill Lupton, a longhorn cattle breeder who liked to invent things, initially sold farming products. His creations included a mid mounted hedge and verge trimmer followed by the first spinning salt distribution gritter.

Jonathan chuckles at the memory of his dad, who he says was “better at inventing things than patenting them”. Bill’s legacy continues to loom large over the company he founded in 1969, but in the late 1980s it pivoted away from agriculture to highways. Jonathan became a director in 1998 and for years ran the business alongside his brother, Andrew.

Together they developed Econ to the point where its latest accounts, for the year ending 31 March 2022, showed turnover of £43.7 million and profit of £10.41 million.

Made in Ripon

This year has been tougher, with the doubling of steel prices posing a huge headache on top of the standard energy and price rises all businesses have encountered. Brexit hasn’t helped either. Jonathan says:

“In hindsight it’s probably been a bad thing for us because it’s hampered us selling into Europe. I voted for it but it was the wrong call.”

But everything pales in comparison with the terrible weekend in January last year, when Jonathan lost both his brothers. He recalls:

“I buried my younger brother on the Friday and then Andrew had a massive heart attack that night. In the early hours of Saturday morning we were at Harrogate hospital and we lost him in the early hours of Sunday morning.”

Staff are raising £20,000 for the British Heart Foundation this year in Andrew’s memory.

The launch of Econ’s British Heart Foundation fundraising partnership this year.

Jonathan, who lives in Galphay, is very hands-on at Econ. Has losing both brothers made him consider selling-up and taking more time to pursue his passions for cycling and motor racing or walking the dogs on the beach at Sandsend? He says:

“It’s made me more determined to keep it going. My brother would have wanted the legacy to continue.”

Econ’s shareholding is now split between Jonathan and Andrew’s estate. Andrew’s son, Thomas, works for Econ and Jonathan says without hesitation Econ will remain a family-run business.

Looking ahead, he predicts hotboxes, which local authorities use to fix potholes. will account for a larger proportion of businesses.

Councils are also under pressure to reach carbon reduction schemes, and this week Econ launched its first electric gritter at the Cold Comfort 2023 trade show in Harrogate.

People love to berate the state of the roads — but this company in Ripon does more than perhaps anyone else to keep Britain moving in winter.

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Ripon firm Econ Engineering is launching its first electric gritter at a trade show in Harrogate today.

The Electric Quick Change Body has a demountable bodywork, which enables the vehicle to switch from gritting to tipping in 15 minutes.

Econ’s research and development team worked with Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland and truck dealer Crossroads to create the prototype, which is built on a 19-tonne Volvo FE Electric 4×2 chassis.

Jonathan Lupton, managing director at Econ, which is the UK’s leading manufacturer of winter maintenance and highways vehicles, said:

“We have spent a long time developing the new E-QCB, undertaking comprehensive redesigns and trialling it, to ensure that we can offer a fully electric solution for our customers that can be used all-year round.

“The vehicle operates best in urban environments, where daily mileage is typically less than some longer distance motorways or rural routes.

“As it is easy to switch body types with this model, customers can benefit from operating the vehicle all year-round.”

Econ supplies gritters to many local authorities, which are increasingly demanding green vehicles to meet zero-emission targets.

The gritter will be unveiled today on the Econ stand at the two-day winter highway maintenance conference Cold Comfort 2023 at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Christian Coolsaet, managing director of Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland, said:

“Every part of the transport sector needs to have its sights set on achieving net zero, and gritting and snowploughing is no exception.

“The team at Econ has developed an exceptional new product with our FE Electric chassis at its heart; this is going to allow gritter fleets to reap the benefits of operating cleaner, quieter and more efficient trucks.”

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