Earlier in May, Miller UK hosted their Icelandic dealer Kraftvélar and their seventy two Icelandic guests. The visitors travelled direct from Reykjavik on a private charter flight into Newcastle International Airport on Monday morning and were welcomed by glorious sunshine.
Their trip which coincided with a visit to the Komatsu Factory in Birtley, gave the attendees an exclusive opportunity to learn about Miller’s unique approach to making world-class British buckets, hear about how the business began and how the Miller future strategy is well positioned for growth.
Miller UK is the world’s leading manufacturer of buckets and quick couplers for construction and mining equipment. Headquartered in Cramlington, Northumberland where they employ highly skilled craftsman and engineers who are constantly pushing the boundaries of attachment technology. 
On arrival at Miller HQ which is based in Cramlington, Northumberland the visitors were greeted by the company’s Chairman, Keith Miller and Jacqui Miller-Charlton MBE who is a Business Ambassador and Main Board Director. The visit began with welcome refreshments, and a short introduction to Miller’s wonderful heritage featuring a historical look back at 40 years of innovation from Miller’s Chairman, Keith Miller.
The visitors then experienced a tour of the Miller production facility, with unparalleled access and insight into the craftsmanship, precision and quality techniques that go into every Miller British made bucket. The tour started off on the Miller bucket assembly line where the guests were shown the process of how the innovative Miller Scoop bucket is built from the delivery of the sheet steel, profiling, laser cutting, welding, paint shop, assembly and finally the finished product.
“Miller is well-known in Iceland but also around the world because they have such pride and quality in their work.” Mr. Dofri Eysteinsson, from Suðurverk group.
After the factory tour the Icelandic guests were then welcomed by Miller’s product specialist Gavin Urwin (Head of Engineering) who gave an informed presentation on the latest product innovations from Miller such as the Miller PowerLatch Tilt and the revolutionary Scoop bucket design. To conclude the presentation, the visitors received a quick summary of the exciting product developments in the Miller product pipeline as well as an overview of the world-class test facilities, where all of the new developments undergo to ensure that they are the safest in the marketplace. 
Viktor Karl Ævarsson Sales and Marketing Director Kraftvélar said “We’ve had a fantastic two days in the North East of England and the visit to the Miller factory was a huge success. Everyone who came along had a great time and we were thrilled to visit the impressive Miller facilities, view the excellent products and experience the generous hospitality to our customers. We are immensely proud of our long standing affiliation with Miller and the success of the visit further cements our close working relationship.”
The event ended with a with an enjoyable evening in Newcastle city centre where there were songs sung, stories told and even a traditional Icelandic thunder clap which could be heard beyond the restaurant walls.
Brendan Quill, Sales and Marketing Director, Miller, UK “Today has been a fantastic opportunity to engage with our Icelandic dealer Kraftvélar and we’ve enjoyed giving our Icelandic friends an appreciation of what Miller and our innovative product offering is all about.”
