While many of us were frozen out of work during the recent snowy weather, business was booming at one west Oxfordshire company. The reason was simple — Bunce (Ashbury) based in the village at the foot of the Downs near White Horse Hill, is this country’s leading manufacturer and supplier of snow-clearing equipment.

Managing director Andrew Bunce said: “We were absolutely flat-out. The calls were coming from all over the country.

“I took an inquiry one morning from Alderney in the Channel Islands and within an hour I had received one from Shetland.”

The company manufactures snow ploughs, snow blowers and snow sweepers, and is the distributor for a range of grit-spreaders made by Danish company Epoke.

“Nobody else in this country offers such a wide range of products made specifically for snow-clearance. Our equipment can deal with everything from footpaths to motorways and airport runways,” said Mr Bunce.

Local authorities, together with companies contracted to carry out snow clearance work on their behalf, form the major part of the company’s customer base, but that is changing.

“Increasingly, there are also commercial companies, such as supermarkets, with their own car parks and factory yards to keep clear. That is a growing market,” said Mr Bunce.

The cost of this machinery can range from about £2,000 for a snow plough up to £35,000 for a snow blower to fit a JCB.

Elsewhere in Europe, where hard winters are more predictable, there are markets for coping with the consequences.

Mr Bunce said: “We have sold a few machines to Russia. We thought we would sell just the one, and that they would copy it, but we have sold several more since.

“In China, the first sale was about ten years ago. Again, we thought that would be all, but they have come back and bought a few more.”

Bunce (Ashbury) is an old-established family business, going back more than a century.

It was founded by William John Bunce, great-grandfather of the present management. In this fourth generation Andrew Bunce is sales director, while brothers Philip and Stephen are finance director and works director respectively.

WJ Bunce first set up in business as a blacksmith, at a forge in the centre of Ashbury, in 1896. In 1900 he moved to the present site, setting up a workshop in his garden.

Subsequently, two adjoining houses were purchased, with the business premises growing to extend across the gardens of all three. More recently, the premises have been expanded with new workshops for shot-blasting and painting.

Mr Bunce said: “As far as we know, great-grandfather was the first person to put a snowplough in front of a lorry. That was in the 1920s, and it has developed from there.”

As well as the Bunce family, there are also other several generational links with the company among the staff.

“Several people will be able to complete 40 years of working here before they retire. And one will be able to reach the milestone of 50,” said Mr Bunce.

Although the grit-spreaders are imported from Denmark, they still generate work here.

Mr Bunce explained: “They still involve us in some manufacture, as we make the parts for fitting to the chassis of the carrying vehicle.”

Of course, weather is a major factor in this industry. Mr Bunce sees this year’s conditions as an example of how, as predicted by climate change experts, rising average temperatures are likely to be accompanied by a higher incidence of extreme events — such as the recent heavy snow.

But ironically, like most other businesses, the snow has made life difficult for the Bunce operation, due to conditions on the roads.

“We were having these calls from all over the country, and in most cases we had the machines and the parts ready to send out, but we couldn’t do it because the courier service we use couldn’t get to us,” Mr Bunce said.

“And several times we needed replacement spare parts, and our suppliers could not get to us. We asked Oxfordshire County Council if we could clear the road from here to Shrivenham.

“They said we could if we wanted to, but there would be no insurance cover. We took the decision to do so because we needed to use the roads, but it was a bit of a risk.

“It’s ironic because we are a company which provides the equipment that keeps the rest of the country running.”

Would Mr Bunce look forward to another spell of bad weather this year?

“A couple of weeks break in-between to catch up first would be the most welcome arrangement,” he said.

But this is a company for all seasons, as its product range also includes two-wheeled tractors and mowers for gardens, cultivation and landscaping, and drainage equipment for ground maintenance.

Its sweepers are also used in civil engineering for clearing mud, sand and grit, and for sweeping surfaces before surface-dressing or paving.

Having machinery capable of dealing with sand has also opened up other opportunities, with is versatility bringing orders for where snow is unlikely, such as Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and, in the last ten years, Nigeria.

So whatever the weather Bunce (Ashbury) looks to have a secure future.

Name: Bunce (Ashbury) Established: 1896 Owners: The Bunce family Number of staff: 22 Annual turnover: Confidential

Contact: 01793 710212 Web: www.bunce.co.uk