A leading UK industrial products supplier, with bases in Greater Manchester and Gloucestershire, is expanding its UK operations as it aims to boost capacity and sustainability.
Established in 1876, Bolton-based Till & Whitehead has invested in expanding its facility responsible for stocking and distributing fasteners and consumables for the window trade. Capacity at its UK Fasteners division, which is situated in Longborough is being extended by a third in response to growing demand for items ranging from window fasteners to consumables.
The site now stocks 5,000 different product lines, designed to help window fabricators and installers manufacture and install high-quality windows. This also includes Yale cylinder locks to help provide security on UPVC doors, for instance, as well as frame vents.
The investment is part of a seven-figure funding package from Lloyds Bank, which Till & Whitehead is using to expand its footprint and enhance its sustainability credentials.
Till & Whitehead Limited is the 623rd oldest limited company in the UK, out of roughly 5.6 million. The business was established almost 150 years ago, and started as a specialist ironmonger and cotton mill furnisher, and went on to supply some of the country’s largest infrastructure projects stemming from the industrial revolution, including the Manchester Ship Canal.
Today, the business has evolved to offer broad ranges of products required for housebuilding and maintenance, in addition to engineering consumables and janitorial products. It supplies a range of national housebuilders, councils and manufacturers across the UK from its Bolton premises.
Despite its industrial roots, Till & Whitehead is also responding to growing demand for more sustainable products by placing ESG firmly at the top of its agenda. Staff are enrolled in a ‘Sustainability School’, and the company has achieved accreditation in areas including responsible waste management and sustainable construction. The business will double the number of its workers receiving the training this summer to ensure it is using the best practices to reduce its environmental impact.
Stuart Padmore, Managing Director at Till & Whitehead, said: “My great-grandfather joined this business at the age of 15 in 1887, and our family has been part of the wider Till & Whitehead ever since. We’ve used the long and rich history to build strong relationships and become one of the most trusted suppliers for our product ranges in the UK.
“However, this does not mean we are complacent, and we’re always looking for ways to diversify into new sectors while becoming more sustainable. This latest investment is geared towards giving us a platform that will help us do just that.”
Matt Smith, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Till & Whitehead is a company with a strong British heritage and reputation for supplying quality products. Its expansion is testament to the value that experience adds to a business, and Stuart and the team are using that to their advantage.
“At a time when the country is in need of more houses, companies like Till & Whitehead, which are providing housebuilders with construction supplies, have an important role to play. Working with my colleague Michele Donnelly, we are proud to support such an ambitious business and be by its side as it looks to forge ahead with its plans to help it continue to live up to its well-earned, and longstanding, reputation.”
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