Kath Wilkes Retires from Phoenix Materials Testing

It's the end of an era at Phoenix Materials Testing as Kath Wilkes, the mother of our founder and previous Technical Director Darren Wilkes, has retired from her role as a Cleaner within our testing facilities.

Working at Phoenix since 2003

Kath has been working at Phoenix since it was established as a service and calibration company in 2003, when we were based at Brick Kiln Street. Over 18 years of operations, Phoenix has transformed into a bespoke machine-building company, moving in 2010 to a larger factory in Brierley Hill, to support the building demand for our testing services. Kath has been a vital and much-loved member of the team every step of the way.

Before joining the Phoenix team, Kath held a variety of jobs, including jewellery making, working on cranes, and making picnic baskets. She also worked for over 30 years as a cleaner, for the mattress manufacturing company Cumfilux.

When Darren and Vicki Wilkes formed Phoenix Materials Testing, she was asked to bring her cleaning expertise over to Phoenix, and it's been a fantastic journey ever since. When speaking to Kath about what she enjoyed most about her time at Phoenix, she said she enjoyed working with the team the most.

Retirement Plans

Kath is looking forward to spending more time with her five grandchildren, who are sure to keep her busy. Like everyone else during the current pandemic, Kath hasn’t been able to do as much as she'd like, but her retirement plans include travelling around the UK, in particular visiting her favourite destination in Wales, the Gower Peninsula.

We would like to thank Kath for all of her hard work over the years and wish her a very happy retirement, she will be greatly missed.  

Best wishes, from the Phoenix team.