Kasdon, a NOTE company, in Wolverhampton

09:30 am: The Final Preparations

Long before the first guests arrived, the new facility was being prepared with the final touches ready to welcome our guests. Rows of seats were aligned for the presentations, each set out with a welcome gift, while the caterers and organisers worked away in the background getting the morning refreshments prepped and ready to go.

10:30 am: The VIP Welcome

The event was held inside our new 7,000 sq ft expansion at Kasdon’s headquarters in Wolverhampton. From 10:30 am, guests were brought over to the manufacturing facility in coaches, where our team was on hand to welcome everyone with refreshments.

Among our esteemed attendees, we were incredibly honoured to welcome Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston, KCB, CBE. Now sitting on the NOTE AB Board of Directors, his extensive military expertise brings invaluable strategic insight into the aerospace and defence sectors. His presence really underscored the importance of this milestone, highlighting Kasdon and NOTE’s commitment to providing high-reliability defence electronics manufacturing. It was fantastic to see him catching up with Steve and Johannes during the morning reception.

The day also provided an excellent opportunity to welcome senior leadership from across the wider NOTE Group. Joining Kasdon’s Managing Director Steve Stockley for the celebration were NOTE AB’s CEO and President Johannes Lind-Widestam, Chief Procurement Officer Cecilia Örn-Lindberg, and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Bahare Mackinovski.

We were also delighted to host NOTE UK VP Neil Owen alongside the wider NOTE UK leadership team, including Business Development Director Andy Thwaites, Haddenham Managing Director Paul Newman, Basildon Managing Director Dan Watley, and Tom Garvey, the newly appointed CEO of Surface Technology International (STI).

Our suppliers from Accelonix showcased a fully automatic vertical cleaning system based on the InJet® 388 platform. The Elite 7 team have been supplying Kasdon with new SMT machines for advanced PCB assembly.

11:00 am: Celebrating Our Journey

Once everyone was settled, NOTE UK VP Neil Owen took to the stage to officially open the proceedings.

He then handed the floor over to Kasdon’s Managing Director Steve Stockley, who took us all on a brilliant trip down memory lane. Hearing Steve share Kasdon’s incredible journey from its founding 30 years ago right up to the acquisition by NOTE in October 2025 was a very proud moment for the whole team. He also gave special mention to his wife Donna and celebrated Kasdon’s longest serving members on stage.

A surprise shirt reveal!

To a massive round of applause, Steve finished his speech by taking off his jacket to reveal a custom shirt. It looked strictly businesslike from the front, but the back was styled like a Swedish football shirt printed with “NOTE” and the number “30” to mark Kasdon’s 30 years in business this year. Anyone who knows Steve knows he is a die-hard Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, so seeing him happily swap his beloved old gold and black for the Swedish national colours really showed his commitment to Kasdon’s new owners!

Steve then welcomed NOTE AB’s CEO Johannes Lind-Widestam to the stage to round off the speeches. After a warm handshake between the pair, Johannes highlighted NOTE AB’s growth in recent years, noting that this expansion is not just happening globally, but significantly within the UK. He explained how investing in strong local operations, such as our newly expanded Wolverhampton facility, is a key part of NOTE’s UK strategy to create new business opportunities in the electronics manufacturing sector. It was a fantastic way to conclude the presentations and gave everyone an inspiring look at the future of NOTE UK.

12:15 pm: The Official Ribbon Cutting

Then came the official ribbon cutting from Steve Stockley and Johannes Lind-Widestam. From what we hear, Steve was delighted that Johannes kindly made him look the same height in this one!

12:30 pm Onwards: Lunch and Networking

With the formalities out of the way, the rest of the afternoon was all about celebrating. Guests and staff mingled over food and drink, got involved in a few activities (and later, prizes) we had set up around the floor, and were even treated to some close-up magic tricks from our very own Quality Manager, Russell Lowke.

It was incredibly rewarding to show our clients, partners, and guests through the new facility, showcasing our investment plans for upgraded SMT lines and how the original Kasdon footprint now seamlessly connects with the new NOTE extension.

After the guests had gone, Steve gathered the Kasdon team to give a personal thank you for everything they’ve contributed to Kasdon’s success so far as a trusted UK electronics manufacturer. A huge amount of hard work went into preparing the facility for this milestone, and seeing everyone’s reaction to the new setup made it all worthwhile. We are so excited about this new chapter as part of NOTE AB.

A Special Thanks to Our Partners

An event of this scale, and a facility expansion of this size, doesn’t happen without incredible local partners. We would like to extend our gratitude to Relocatable for their fantastic work in supplying the event structures for the day, and to Hindley Contractors, whose brilliant construction work brought our new 7,000 sq ft extension to life.