Thursday, 16 October 2025
Back in 1975, Spencer Davies OBE opened a small metal workshop in Burry Port, South Wales. What started as a local fabrication business has, over five decades, evolved into one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of industrial enclosures and technology cabinets. This year, Amcanu proudly celebrates its 50th anniversary – a milestone that speaks to the company’s resilience and the strength of its family roots.
The early days were humble and hands-on. As a very young boy, Owain Davies, Amcanu’s current Managing Director, fondly remembers spending school holidays at the factory. To stop Owain from cycling around the factory causing mischief, Owain’s father put him to work; learning practical skills, getting to grips with the tools and helping with assembly tasks. The business was built on strong principles of hard work, integrity, and a deep sense of responsibility to customers and employees alike.
From being commissioned to build bread slicing machines to taking on installation projects for the major Japanese manufacturers that were establishing facilities in Wales, the company’s adaptability became one of its defining strengths. When the Welsh operations of those international manufacturers started to scale-back, Amcanu didn’t falter – it reinvented itself.
In the late ’90s, the company shifted to focus on enclosure manufacturing – the best thing since sliced bread! When a business in that space went into liquidation, Amcanu stepped in and earned a big break – manufacturing enclosures for Godwin Pumps. Other major milestones followed, including the boom in demand for generators due to the Y2K anticlimax, early adoption of advanced manufacturing software and investment in new cutting edge manufacturing equipment.
But not every chapter was easy for Amcanu. The global downturn in 2008/9 brought pain, with layoffs and serious reflection – a very tough time for the family and a real test of character. “We learned who our loyal suppliers and employees were,” Owain recalls. “It made us strong.”
Today, Amcanu’s factory looks very different from its early days, when engineers sat at drawing boards with a very particular selection of pencils and the factory was crammed with custom jigs and tooling in an attempt to ensure consistency. The whole manufacturing process was very labour intensive.
Thanks to automation, investment in cobot welding, and software-driven design and manufacturing, the company has increased its output fivefold – investing in the team to adapt and grow along with the business. New markets like additive manufacturing and battery energy storage are still helping to continue to drive innovation and ensure relevance for the next generation.
Being a family-run business has never just been about legacy – it’s part of Amcanu’s DNA. Spencer always lead the business with very strong principles that have been adopted throughout the entire business. With spouses, cousins, and siblings all working under one roof, Amcanu is more than a team – it’s a family, with strong family values.
“When you put your head on the pillow at night, make sure you can sleep,” Spencer used to say. An ethos that still runs through Amcanu to this day.
With Aron Davies now a key part of the business and baby Oakley representing the fourth generation, the future feels bright. Owain is focused on growing the business by 15-20% per year, continuing to invest in innovation, staying true to what they do best and ensuring the business remains agile enough to adapt to whatever comes next.
As Amcanu looks to the future, the guiding values of quality, honesty and community remain firmly in place. Here’s to the next 50 years of growing a business… authentically Amcanu.
