Pros
Advice to Potential Employees -
This is not a good fit if you’re looking for:
* Clear career progression from entry level
* A living wage without management status
* Transparent pay reviews
* A manufacturing environment properly resourced with tools and training
Overall -
The day-to-day can feel relaxed when targets aren’t being forced, but that’s outweighed by poor pay progression, high pressure, and a culture of unfulfilled promises. The 2-star rating is generous, carried mainly by the location and colleagues rather than the company itself.
Pros -
* Nice location in Bakewell, with countryside and walks nearby.
* Colleagues are generally great — good banter, team spirit, and headphones/music allowed while working.
* Work itself is mostly straightforward, with a mix of simple builds and older legacy products.
* Occasional work socials which are usually enjoyable.
Cons
There is a significant gap between what is promised and the reality of working here.
Progression, cross-training, and work shadowing are frequently talked about but rarely delivered. Showing interest in developing your career or moving departments often results in goals being dangled as motivation to tolerate low pay and high pressure — only for progression to be quietly blocked later, sometimes due to personal bias from senior individuals rather than performance.
Pay structures feel deliberately opaque and manipulated to keep wages low. Cost of living increases are inconsistent and conditional, with exclusions applied to large groups of staff (including those affected by minimum wage compliance). Performance and pay reviews are infrequent, and changes to “review systems” are often used as justification for long periods with no meaningful check-ins at all.
Training and development are minimal in practice. Staff are kept narrowly siloed, despite repeated requests to learn more or broaden skills. Long-serving employees are overlooked, while newer hires are sometimes over-promoted to create the appearance of support and growth.
Management quality varies. Many direct managers are decent and genuinely try to support their teams, but the overall culture is driven from the top by an authoritarian “my word is law” approach. Feedback is often solicited under the appearance of collaboration, but decisions have already been made. HR is very clear that it exists to protect the company, not employees.
Workload is regularly ramped up to hit end-of-month sales targets, creating unnecessary stress for production staff. Overtime is offered but not meaningfully appreciated, and pressure is consistently placed on the lowest-paid workers despite the responsibility they carry.