The Iraq Britain Business Council’s (IBBC) Executive Chairman Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne travelled to Gloucester on Thursday 11 August to visit the headquarters of the Severn Glocon Group and meet with its President and CEO Maurice Critchley. IBBC’s COO Christophe Michels accompanied Baroness Nicholson – who also serves as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Iraq, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan – on the visit.

During the meeting, Mr Critchley and Alan Prosser, Key Account Manager at Severn Glocon, gave Baroness Nicholson and Mr Michels a full briefing on the history and future development of the company, which designs and manufactures control and choke valves for the oil and gas, LNG and other energy industries. They were also taken on a tour of Severn Glocon’s manufacturing plant.

“Baroness Nicholson and I were impressed by the structure and the very steady and solid growth of Severn Glocon, as well as the wide range of its activities on a global scale,” Mr Michels said.

“Mr Critchley commented very positively about the work of IBBC, and expressed a wish for similar organisations to be established in other emerging markets,” he added.

Established in 1957, Severn Glocon Group has been a member of IBBC since 2014. The award-winning company has a strong presence In Basrah, with over 60 employees working with companies such as Shell and BP.