C.T. Hayton employee retires after 50 years of service

John Bateman started working for C.T. Hayton Ltd. in 1965 as an 18-year-old apprentice technician.

Over the past five decades he progressed to become the service manager, and for the last three years has been the parts manager.

Mr Bateman’s first role in the business was in the workshop helping to repair tractors and machines, before he started taking the service van out to farms, repairing farm machinery.

“At the time we also did a lot of work on milking machines, but like many things these have become more computerised and technical, so we’ve concentrated more on tractors and machinery,” he said.

As the company’s reliance on parts increased, Mr Bateman took on the role as service manager, explaining: “When I first started the tractors were smaller so the workshop seemed fairly big.

“As the tractors got bigger they took up more room and made the workshop smaller, so it was important that we had parts available to repair them quickly - we couldn’t keep them for long periods of time.”

During his 50 years with C.T. Hayton, Mr Bateman has seen the company grow from having seven employees to between 35 and 40, opening a second depot in Wigton around 10 years ago.

On the appeal of his job, he said: “I’ve always enjoyed getting people out of trouble, such as when they had breakdowns.”

Mr Bateman has plenty to keep him busy during his retirement, including his involvement with the Cumbria Steam and Vintage Vehicle Society, and their annual Steam Gathering in Flookburgh.

His other hobbies are walking, gardening and photography, which sees him attend steam rallies and agricultural shows to take pictures.

A C.T. Hayton spokesperson said: “John has seen many changes as machinery and tractors have became more advanced, and his knowledge of machinery and tractors is second to none.

“Geoff Hayton, his family and all the staff at CT Hayton Ltd wish John and his wife Margaret a long and happy retirement.”