Bill and Jim Sutton inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Honour Roll

04 June 2010 – The Victorian Government, in partnership with the Victorian Industry Manufacturing Council, inducted Bill and Jim Sutton into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Honour Roll for their outstanding contributions to sustained manufacturing excellence in Victoria at the annual industry gala dinner held on 2 June 2010 in Melbourne.

In accepting the induction, Jim Sutton attributed the success of the company, which was established by Bill’s and Jim’s grandfather Henry Sutton in 1917, to its 400 strong dedicated staff and the continuing investment in research and development.
Mr Sutton, who was also speaking for his brother Bill, who was unable to attend the event, said it was a great honour and privilege to accept the award after joining the family business more than 50 years ago.
“We attribute our success and sustainability to our dedicated staff, our investment in R&D and our commitment to quality through benchmarking against world-best practice,” he said. “Today we have three factories in Victoria, one in New Zealand and a joint venture in India, together producing more than 100,000 tools a day with a passion for quality and family tradition.”

The Thomastown-based company is still 100% family-owned and Mr Sutton said he was proud and fortunate to have their sons Robert and Peter on board to continue the tradition.

When announcing the inductees, Minister for Minister for Agriculture and Small Business, the Hon. Joe Helper MP, said the Honour Roll celebrated individuals with the foresight, creativity and energy to take Victorian manufacturing to a higher level, which is exactly what Bill and Jim Sutton have achieved during their long career.

Acting as joint Directors and Managing Directors for 25 years, Bill and Jim have truly steered the strategic vision and direction for the company with years of dedication and hard work. An aggressive commitment to technology and expansion has underpinned their leadership at Sutton Tools. Among other achievements, Bill and Jim were instrumental in introducing the first physical vapour deposition coating facility to the country through the establishment of Surface Technology Coatings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sutton Tools.

Furthermore, the brothers were among the first in the world to adopt the ‘ground from solid’ methodology for the manufacture of drills and cutters, a move that ensured the company’s ability to export to more than 20 countries, with Germany being the biggest market. It has been strategies such as these, coupled with a solid joint vision that has seen Sutton Tools grow in market share and production capability during the Bill and Jim era.
Today, Sutton Tools is the only Australian manufacturer of world quality cutting tools and much of that success is down to the leadership of Jim and Bill Sutton, who have always stuck to the Sutton family mantra, “Manufactured in Australia, exported to the world.”