Tributes paid after Renishaw co-founder Sir David McMurtry dies

Tributes have been paid to Renishaw co-founder Sir David McMurtry, who has died aged 84.

Sir David Grant, who became interim non-executive chairman this summer when Sir David stepped down, said: “David was a uniquely talented engineer and his curiosity and drive helped to create a globally respected engineering company. His legacy will live on through the culture of innovation he helped to create in Renishaw.”

Sir David McMurtry founded the advanced manufacturing firm more than 50 years ago and the Gloucestershire firm grew to employ around 5,000 people and is a world leader in designing and manufacturing analytical instruments and medical devices.

The 84-year-old created the company with John Deer in 1973 to develop a 3D touch-trigger probe to help with the manufacture of engines used on Concorde. The company floated on the Stock Market 10 years later and today has a market value of £2.5bn.

He announced in June he would step down as the company’s executive chairman with his son, Richard, becoming a non-executive director.

It was the end of a very long career that was launched at Rolls-Royce in Bristol, where he spent 17 years, becoming its youngest-ever assistant chief of engine design. He was responsible for 47 patents at Rolls-Royce and went on to be named on over 200 patents for Renishaw innovations.

In a statement, the company said: “Sir David said that from the start he and John set out to create a company that was different to most others – different in how it applied technology to real world problems, in how it invested for the long term, in how it manufactured rather than outsourced, and in how it treated customers and local communities as partners.

“The culture that he and John created remains today and is very much present in Renishaw’s values and especially that of integrity, where the company takes decisions for the right reasons and not just because that is what is expected.”