His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent has visited leading Welsh manufacturer Sony UK Technology Centre.
The Duke of Kent visited the Pencoed facility to find out more about the site’s manufacturing operation and its work supporting digital literacy among school children in Wales.
The visit comes almost 30 years after His Royal Highness originally visited Sony UK TEC’s first manufacturing site in Bridgend in 1990.
During his latest visit, The Duke was welcomed by a delegation of local councillors from Bridgend and the surrounding areas alongside managing director of the factory Steve Dalton OBE.
His Royal Highness was then given a tour of the 26,000 sq m facility and had the opportunity to speak with engineers and manufacturing professionals who produce the brand’s high definition and 4K broadcast cameras.
The team working on the Raspberry Pi, a credit-card sized computer which is manufactured in Pencoed, also spoke with The Duke and demonstrated how the computer is created and tested on site.
During the day he also got the chance to see pupils taking part in Sony UK TEC’s Digital Literacy Programme, which promotes practical computer coding skills
The factory’s managing director Mr Dalton said:
“We were delighted to welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent to our Pencoed facility for the first time. It was our privilege to show him how the factory has progressed and grown since his last visit to our Bridgend site in 1990.
“It was a pleasure to show The Duke our manufacturing facility and give him an in-depth insight into how our products are created.
“We continuously work hard to ensure the growth and development of our business and our people. With over £5 million worth of investments over the past few years we have implemented a multitude of innovative solutions, including IoT technology to continue evolving into a smart factory. We were very proud to be able to demonstrate to His Royal Highness how far we’ve come since he last visited us.
“We’d like to once again sincerely thank The Duke of Kent for taking an interest in our operation at Sony UK TEC. His visit was the perfect way to mark our 25th anniversary year in Pencoed and we look forward to welcoming him again in the future.”
