THE PRINCE OF WALES UNDERTAKES ENGAGEMENTS IN HEREFORDSHIRE
Tuesday 5th November 2019
Engagement 1
The Prince of Wales will visit ETL Systems Ltd, a global technology company that is one of the world’s leaders in radio frequency manufacture to the satellite industry, Coldwell Radio Station, Kingstone, Hereford, Herefordshire HR2 9NE.
The Prince of Wales will tour the company and meet members of staff who are involved in the manufacture of their products. He will watch demonstrations of the company’s products in action and then unveil a plaque to officially commemorate the visit.
ETL Systems is fast growing technology company, which designs and manufactures radio frequency (RF) equipment to enable and optimise satellite communications networks.
ETL has received three Queen’s Awards for Enterprise (2007, 2009 & 2013), recognising impressive growth in international trade. From a secure facility set amongst cider apple orchards, ETL exports about 80% of sales to over 120 countries.
ETL’s equipment is used by 14 of the top 20 global satellite operators and 75% of the main NATO governments use ETL products to protect their citizens. Customers include Lockheed-Martin, Airbus, Thales, Intelsat, BBC and NOAA.
ETL Systems supports engineers of the future, as one of the founder members of NMiTE (New Model in Technology and Engineering), an initiative backed by government, educators, and industry, to transform engineering education in Britain. Located in Hereford, NMiTE aims to secure university status and become Britain’s first wholly new, purpose built UK University in 40 years.
Engagement 2
The Prince of Wales will visit Ross-on-Wye and officially launch the Gilpin 2020 Festival, to celebrate the town’s role as the birthplace of British tourism. Old Market House, Market Place, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 5NX.
The Prince of Wales will arrive in Ross-on-Wye where he will meet a range of local voluntary and philanthropic organisations, as well as environmental groups. There will be a celebration through Broad Street and entertainment from local groups, demonstrating how a range of issues, from local to international, are being supported by the local community.
His Royal Highness will tour a local producers’ market, will meet local businesses and charities and will watch a dance by the children of Walford Primary School to celebrate 26 years of civic twinning between Ross-on-Wye and Namutumba, Uganda.
The Prince will have an opportunity to meet stallholders and sample some of their local Herefordshire produce. He will also greet well-wishers from the balcony of the Market Hall. The Prince will then be invited to light a torch to formally open the Gilpin 2020 Festival.
Ross on Wye is a town steeped in culture and history and the only town in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a community where voluntary and business action aim to enhance society and the environment and the local economy is inspired by a rich heritage.
In 2020 the town will celebrate the Gilpin 2020 Festival, which celebrates the Wye Valley as the birthplace of modern British tourism. When Rev. William Gilpin visited Ross 250 years ago, he documented his trip with the UK’s first ‘tourist guide’. This brought more and more visitors to the town who, using his book, took cruises along the picturesque River Wye, dined at specific locations, and took walks to particular viewpoints. It made the ‘Wye Tour’ one of the first ‘package’ holidays. By 1850 over twenty guidebooks had been published, firmly establishing Ross-on-Wye and the Lower Wye Valley as the birthplace of modern British tourism.
The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will launch their booklet The Picturesque Wye Tour, which has been written to celebrate the Gilpin 2020 Festival.
