Talk of the North American economy sliding into recession has Peter France puzzled. “We are having a fantastic year in the US,” says Mr France, the chief executive of Rotork, an engineering group based in Bath, Somerset. Turning to Rotork’s business in general, Mr France – who took the company’s top job at Rotork in May – says that, while trying not to be complacent, he has yet to see signs of a downturn.

“Of course, a period of weaker demand could be creeping up on us, that we just cannot see, but in most of the markets we are in, the number of projects we are working on is higher than a year ago,” says Mr France. Behind this robust statement is Rotork’s leading position in a specialised field of engineering.