Titan Steel Wheels – A Local Gem with Global Reach
By Media - 20/11/2025
Posted 3 days ago
FIND out more about our Elite Partners, Titan Steel Wheels, with their Partner Profile.
Tucked away beside the Stafford and Worcester Canal in Cookley, you’ll find one of Worcestershire’s best-kept secrets – Titan Steel Wheels. From this historic site, where metal has been worked since the 1600s, a team of over 350 people design and build some of the biggest, toughest wheels on the planet.
Titan Steel Wheels is part of Titan International, a global leader in off-the-road wheel and tyre technology, headquartered in Quincy, Illinois, USA. From Kidderminster to Kansas and everywhere in between, Titan’s name is synonymous with durability, innovation and top-quality engineering.
But these aren’t your everyday wheels. The Cookley team produces giant steel wheels used in construction, mining and lifting equipment – the kind that keep gold mines running in Australia, ports operating in Singapore, and infrastructure projects moving along the new Silk Road in China. Each wheel is designed to order, tailored to meet the unique needs of the world’s biggest industrial brands. As Managing Director Chris Akers puts it:
“Our wheels travel to places you can’t even walk, and probably wouldn’t want to! They work in some of the harshest environments on Earth and have to perform flawlessly every time.”
Despite the global reach, Titan Steel Wheels remains proudly local at heart. The Cookley factory, dating back to 1650, has seen generations of craftspeople shaping metal – from the days of puddling and tin plate, through to today’s high-tech rolling, welding and precision machining operations. The company’s focus on innovation and continuous improvement keeps it at the cutting edge of engineering. As Chris explains:
“Lean manufacturing and modern production systems have transformed how we work. Every product is built to order, and our engineers constantly find new ways to make our wheels even stronger, safer and more efficient.”
It’s that dedication that earned the company multiple Queen’s Awards most recently for International Trade, recognising outstanding export growth. Around 98% of everything made in Cookley is shipped overseas – a remarkable achievement for a village factory.
But while Titan’s products travel the world, the business remains deeply rooted in the local community. Many of its employees come from the surrounding area, and the company has a long tradition of promoting from within. General Manager Alex Willmott is a perfect example – he joined Titan as a 18-year-old apprentice on a Youth Training Scheme and worked his way up to lead the entire site.
“This place blew my mind on day one,” Alex says. “Titan supported me through my engineering degree and has always invested in people. There’s a real sense of pride in what we do here.”
That pride extends to the football pitch too. Titan Steel Wheels became a Kidderminster Harriers sponsor in 2022, something Chris Akers says just made perfect sense:
“We’ve got loads of Harriers fans among our 350 employees, so sponsoring the team felt like a great way to give something back. We provide free match tickets for staff and offer hospitality packages as rewards – it’s a brilliant way to bring people together and support our local club.”
For Titan, being part of the community isn’t just about business – it’s about belonging. The company continues to invest in local skills, offering apprenticeships and career opportunities that help keep Worcestershire’s proud engineering heritage alive and thriving.
As Chris sums it up:
“We’re a global company, but our heart is right here in Cookley. It makes us incredibly proud to think that from this little corner of Kidderminster, we’re helping to build and move the world.”
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