A co-founder of Renishaw, a figure on SoGlos's Top 50 most influential individuals in business in Gloucestershire 2024 and a major player in the engineering field, Sir David McMurtry has died aged 84.
Sir David has at least 200 patented inventions to his name, with Renishaw's first product, a pioneering touch-trigger probe designed to solve an inspection requirement for the Olympus engines used on the Concorde, being launched in 1973.
Since then, the Wotton-under-Edge-based firm has grown into an engineering giant that's recognised globally, with a revenue hitting £691.3 million in the year up to June 2024.
As well as his legacy in engineering innovation, Sir David leaves behind a legacy of supporting keen apprentices, with the company establishing its apprenticeship programmes as an integral part of its 50-year history — in part due to Sir David and his co-founder John Deer starting their careers as apprentices.
With around 60 apprentices being hired each year, the business employs around 5,256 people worldwide across its 67 key locations, with 3,300 based in the UK and 366 being graduates and apprenticeship successes.
While remaining a non-executive director of Renishaw, Sir David did step down as executive chairman in June 2024.
Announcing the news on Instagram, Renishaw CEO Will Lee said: 'David was a great visionary, an outstanding innovator who constantly challenged conventions, and a hugely empathetic man.
'He will be greatly missed by so many, including the generations of Renishaw engineers who he inspired and mentored. The manufacturing industry has lost a true pioneer and many of us at Renishaw have lost a father figure and a friend.
'Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his wife and family.'
