Husband and wife founders pass Angus engineering business on to employees

The husband-and-wife team behind a top Angus engineering firm have handed over the reins to their employees. Finesse Control Systems founders Fraser and Sheila Dunphy retired this week from the firm they started together 26 years ago.

The Arbroath business, which designs and manufactures industrial automation solutions, now employs 21 staff at its manufacturing plant in Kirkton Industrial Estate.

However, when it started in 2000, it was just electrical engineer Fraser and wife Sheila, who dealt with administrative tasks and bookkeeping. Fraser, who previously worked for Timex and Michelin in Dundee and then Halliburton in Arbroath, had always dreamed of being his own boss. With Sheila by his side, Finesse Control Systems grew from a design firm to a manufacturing site by 2007.

In 2020, as part of succession planning, the pair transferred the business to an employee ownership trust to ensure it wouldn’t be “sold on and closed down” when they retired.

Fraser said:

“We are both very proud of what we achieved and have confidence that the business will continue to thrive.

“The business has never been busier, with the last 12 months being our most successful yet.

“We are looking forward to retirement and stepping away from the daily stresses of running a business.

“However, we are staying on as directors for the time being.”

In 2024, Fraser and Sheila promoted three of their staff members to leadership roles, one of whom began as an apprentice 10 years earlier. Fraser said he has every faith in Finesse Control Systems‘ new top team, Kieran McCleary, Lornette Parker and Nathan Christie.

He added:

“We had initially thought about recruiting externally for a new managing director and other senior posts, but we really wanted the right people.

“We had a team of talented young employees so decided to promote from within and it was the right decision.

“It was a phased approach, with the employees shadowing us, and after a year they took the reins from us.

“Providing apprenticeships for local young people has always been very important to us, so we are particularly proud that one of the new leadership team started out as an apprentice 12 years ago.”

Fraser and Sheila hope to spend more time with their grandchildren in Glasgow now they are retired. The pair are also trustees of The Dalitso Project, a local charity which provides orphan care, education, food programmes, health care and housing in Malawi. They plan to visit the East African country twice a year to carry out charity work.

This article appeared in the Courier on 26 June 2026