by Nick Drew | Wed 08 Sep 2021
A Return to DIGBITS
The local skyline may have changed just recently, with the demolition of the Rugeley power station cooling towers, that were something of an iconic backdrop at DIGBITS HQ, as seen above in this photo from 2014, and I'm delighted to report that the DIGBITS business continues to boom!
The family run business that was founded by John Clay back in 1991 continues to go from strength to strength and according to John’s son Marcus Clay, they are busier than ever at the moment, demand for their products is so high that they have had adopt a double shift programme to keep up with the level of production required.
The company continues to invest in its facility and back in 2018 two new 3.9m high Modula Vertical Lift Machine (VLM) storage systems were purchased and installed in the warehouse; these have since been joined by a 3rd machine. 
In the manufacturing facility just a stone’s throw across the road, state of the art Mazak CNC milling lathes are the star attraction with the latest one also being fitted with a high-tech robot arm which is an impressive sight to see in operation.
The company employs some of the best welders and fabricators in the business, and it’s great to witness raw metal coming in the door and being transformed into top quality buckets and attachments at the other end, all painted and ready to be delivered to customers.
But it’s not just buckets and attachments being created here, the company also produce undercarriage components like sprockets and idlers too, it really is British engineering at its best is alive and kicking in the heart of Staffordshire!
On the day of this visit we had been out to visit a long standing DIGBITS customer Dave Stone, who had recently taken delivery of a range of bespoke Scandinavian style buckets for his new Takeuchi TB370 with Nox tiltrotator, I’ll be covering that in more detail in a future edition of Earthmovers Magazine, so one to look out for.
Let's take a video walkaround of the DIGBITS facility with our young mate 13 year old Lucas Haddock.