Bendalls Engineering

19/10/2026

Ashleigh has been out in local schools recently, talking to students about careers in engineering.

Earlier this month she visited St John Henry Newman Catholic School, speaking to students from across the whole school. Last week she met Year 11s at William Howard School, where our stand even had some unexpected neighbours there, with owls, snakes and an armadillo joining the event!

At both, students asked about routes into engineering through the Bendalls Engineering Skills Academy in association with Lakes College. Questions ranged from "what does an engineer actually do?" to "can I earn while I learn?" (yes, you can!).

Thank you to both schools for having us. Next up: Caldew School on 17 November and QEGS Penrith on 1 December.

Find out more about apprenticeships at Bendalls: https://lnkd.in/ePzCzPkM

14/10/2026

We’re proud to share that our team has raised £1,022 for Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's Hospice, by taking on the Half Marathon.

The event had 825 runners in total, and the team brought some brilliant individual achievements:

⚙️ Kieran led the way with an impressive 26th place finish, crossing the line in 1 hour 25 minutes.
⚙️ Ashley was close behind, securing 33rd place overall with a brilliant time of 1 hour 26 minutes.
⚙️ Jake set himself a new personal best of 1 hour 28 minutes and took 43rd place.
⚙️ Kevan powered home in 1 hour 35 minutes.
⚙️ Josh delivered a strong run, finishing in 1 hour 41 minutes.
⚙️ Max crossed the finish line in 1 hour 43 minutes, beating his dad’s time on the day of 1 hour 45 minutes!
⚙️ Simon, our oldest contender, who only took up his fitness regime in the last 12 months, completed the course in an impressive 2 hours 1 minute.

Today, we were delighted to welcome Emma Rogerson, Partnerships Lead at Jigsaw, to site to present the total. With one hour of care costing £29.10, the team’s efforts will fund over 35 hours of support for local children and their families. Only around 17% of the hospice’s funding comes from the NHS, so every donation makes a real difference.

If you’d like to support Jigsaw too, whether that’s donating, joining their lottery or picking up some Christmas cards, you can find out more here: https://www.jigsawhospice.org/support-us/

02/10/2026

Bendalls employee Steven Calderwood recently took on the Annandale Way to raise vital funds for our Charity of The Year Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's Hospice.

Jigsaw is Cumbria’s only children’s hospice, delivering compassionate, person-centred care to babies, children and young adults with complex medical and life-limiting conditions—and providing invaluable support to their families, friends and carers too.

He powered through almost 83 km in just under 10.5 hours and raised £305 —what an incredible achievement!

And he isn’t stopping there! This Sunday, Steven will be back on the start line for the Half Marathon alongside 7 other colleagues from Bendalls. 💪🏼

A huge thank you, Steven, for your fantastic support - and good luck to everyone this weekend!

27/08/2026

Another apprenticeship pass! 👏

Congratulations to James, who has successfully completed his apprenticeship and passed his Metal Fabricator End-Point Assessment.

James began his apprenticeship with another training provider before transferring to our Skills Academy to continue his training. His hard work and determination have now paid off, and he is officially a qualified Metal Fabricator.

Well done, James! 🎉

(Pictured left with Production Manager, Barry Gardner)

24/08/2026

Four years ago, they became the first apprentices to begin their training in the Bendalls Engineering Skills Academy in association with Lakes College.

Now, all six have passed their EPAs and become qualified Metal Fabricators—with some already taking their next career steps.

Read their story 👇

Celebrating Bendalls’ first Skills Academy cohort as six apprentices pass their EPAs and progress into qualified roles and further development.

21/08/2026

Celebrating three fantastic long-service milestones:

⚙️ Jamie (right) – 15 years
Jamie joined Bendalls as a Welding and Fabrication Apprentice at 16-year-old before moving into inspection and quality compliance. He has continued to progress throughout his career and is now our Quality Manager.

⚙️ Ian (centre) – 20 years
Ian joined the business following in his Dad’s footsteps—and 20 years later, he’s still an important part of the Bendalls team!

⚙️ Malcolm (left) – 40 years
Reflecting on his four decades with Bendalls, Malcolm said:

“During my time with the company, I have witnessed a lot of changes and improvements. Recently, it has been good to see the company expand into additional sites and a more diverse product range. Gone are the days when all we produced was tanks and pressure vessels. It’s good to see a fantastic team of people all working together to achieve a common goal—satisfied customers.”

A huge congratulations and thank you to Jamie, Ian and Malcolm for their continued hard work, loyalty and contribution to Bendalls over the years. Between them, they have achieved an incredible 75 years of service! 👏🎉

13/08/2026

Our Year 3 apprentices completed the second module of their Outward Bound programme in Eskdale last week.

Across the week, they took part in a two-day expedition, ghyll scrambling, wild swimming and a range of problem-solving activities focused on teamwork, communication, resilience, trust and ownership.

The programme gives our apprentices the chance to step outside their usual working environment, challenge themselves and better understand how they work both individually and as part of a team. They also spent time reflecting on how they can bring what they learned back into the workplace.

The feedback from the week was brilliant:
⚙️ 100% felt the course would make a positive difference to them at work
⚙️ 100% said it had been worthwhile
⚙️ All apprentices felt they had developed their communication, interpersonal skills, trust and resilience

Experiences like this help us develop confident, resilient and self-aware people who communicate well, support one another and take greater ownership as they progress through their careers.

A brilliant week and another important milestone in their apprenticeship journey! 👏

The Outward Bound Trust

04/08/2026

We’re pleased to welcome Grace Emerson, who joined us last week as Management Accountant.

Based at Bendalls in Carlisle, Grace has joined our finance team and will also be supporting NW Total Engineered Solutions across a range of financial activities.

Grace is a recently qualified Chartered Accountant (ACA) and brings three years of experience working in practice. In her new role, she’ll be working closely with teams across both businesses, supporting financial reporting, planning and the wider day-to-day finance function.

It’s great to have Grace on board, and we’re looking forward to seeing her settle into the role and get to know everyone.

Please join us in giving Grace a warm welcome to the team!

29/07/2026

We’re hiring! 📢

We currently have two exciting opportunities to join the team at Bendalls:

⚙️ Draughtsperson
⚙️ Project Manager

If you’re looking for your next opportunity and would like to work on a range of complex engineering projects, we’d love to hear from you!

Find full details about both roles and how to apply on our website: https://bendalls.co.uk/careers/vancancies/

16/07/2026

We're celebrating another fantastic achievement at Bendalls!

Congratulations to Rachel Cunningham on achieving her International / European Welding Engineer (IWE/EWE) qualification.

Professional development plays an important role in helping us continue to deliver the highest standards for our customers, and it's great to see colleagues embracing opportunities to expand their knowledge and expertise.

Well done, Rachel (pictured right with Production manager, Barry Gardner). This is a well-earned achievement, and we look forward to seeing you continue to develop your career with us.