Published - 21st Sep 2026
How General Manager Lucy Russell is turning commitment into results for customers
Haworth Castings has formally confirmed Lucy Russell as General Manager, recognising the leadership she has already demonstrated since joining the business in 2025. Her appointment marks the next stage in Haworth Castings’ development as it continues to strengthen its position across defence, electrification and marine markets.
Lucy’s path to the role has been shaped by experience on both sides of the manufacturing relationship. She began her career in sales and commercial roles, working as a key account manager for major FMCG businesses including Nestlé and Carlsberg, before moving into medical fluidics manufacturing. That move brought her closer to operations and confirmed where her strengths and interests lay.
Throughout her career, Lucy has combined commercial understanding with operational leadership, working alongside senior management teams to improve business performance, strengthen customer relationships and lead organisational change. That experience culminated in seven years in senior operational leadership before being asked to join Haworth Castings, initially as Operations Manager and subsequently as General Manager.
Customers have already noticed the impact of changes that Lucy has introduced, improving the way that her teams work with customers to understand their pain points and meet their needs.
In part, this is down to the introduction of increased data management in the form of daily management tools, QR coding and a bespoke automated planning tool developed in-house. Lucy has taken the time to understand the strengths, motivations and ambitions of her team, creating an environment where people are better able to contribute and develop. The result has been stronger engagement, alongside improved business performance.
“We have a skilled team, many of whom have been with us for 20 years and have significant expertise. By encouraging individuals to take on hybrid roles or further develop their skills, we are helping to keep our team fulfilled, as well as building resilience into our business.”
As a result, customers have highlighted Haworth Casting’s reliable on time delivery performance, more efficient new product introduction, and clearer, more proactive communication.
As the benefits of a manufacturing supply chain partnership become more apparent to customers, Lucy has supported the Haworth Castings team to help demonstrate their value to customers as a strategic partner. This is partly down to a focus on internal culture, so that at every level of the business individuals are acting not just for immediate benefit, but to secure long term value and future growth.
According to Lucy, this focus on team culture is already delivering benefits to customers.
“At every level, our people are working with customers to meet their specific needs and understand their pain points. They are keen to go the extra mile: it’s great to see the engineering quality team quick to support customers and advise on design for manufacture. Even with complex components, our experts are confident in their ability to help and to deliver, supported by the right tools and data. It is my firm belief that long-term partnerships are built through collaboration rather than simply supplying components.”
Equally important is Lucy’s understanding that long-term customer relationships are built on transparency. Drawing on her experience as both a customer and a supplier, she believes that setting realistic expectations from the outset is fundamental to delivering a positive customer experience.
“I’ve seen both sides of the relationship, and I’ve learned that trust comes from being open and realistic about what can be achieved. When customers know exactly what to expect, they’re able to plan with confidence, and that’s the foundation of a strong, long-term partnership.”
Haworth Castings is also investing to support customer needs. A new balancing and overspeed testing cell has been introduced [link to blog once live] alongside more foundry equipment. Business demand means that a second vertical lathe has just been added, with a second 5-axis machining centre forming part of the next phase of development. Alongside the expansion of our machining capabilities, we are continually assessing foundry capacity constraints and exploring innovative ways to overcome them. With the rollover in high demand, new ancillary equipment is being introduced, including a new crane to free up capacity for larger castings.
“Building on data-led decision making, our plan is to strengthen resilience across the supply chain, from inbound materials through to customer delivery.”
Haworth Castings supplies precision castings to performance-critical sectors including the defence, electrical and marine industries. In order to meet growing demand for defence components, Lucy is also overseeing a structured roadmap towards AS9100 certification, including the development of the company’s quality management system.
Haworth Castings is a manufacturing partner, not just a supplier of metal components, so Lucy is working to help customers understand how that benefits them.
“In addition to our core in-house expertise in sand casting and gravity die casting, we share strong links with our sister companies within Expromet Technologies Group, which is a real source of trusted manufacturing opportunity for our customers.”
“Just this week I met with a customer who was looking for a machining supplier. I explained that our sister company, Metaltech Precision, could support that requirement, while also talking through the wider manufacturing options available across Expromet Technologies Group. They hadn’t realised the breadth of capability within the Group, and were excited to explore how a trusted relationship could be expanded.”
Being part of Expromet gives Haworth Castings added strength and resilience, which also helps to provide reassurance for customers.
Lucy’s focus for the business going forward is sustainable and profitable growth through continued investment in machining and foundry capability; closer collaboration across Expromet Technologies Group; and further development of data led decision making. Her ambition is for Haworth Castings to be recognised not only for the quality of its castings, but for its operational excellence and the strength of its customer partnerships.
“I believe the success of a business starts with its people. We are fortunate to have a great team at Haworth Castings, and my focus is on making sure everyone understands the part they play in building a stronger, more resilient business, for our customers and for the long term.”
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