Ladbrook in the News...

Ladbrook Celebrate 70 Years of Pressed Metal Excellence

UK pressed metal parts specialists, Ladbrook Engineering, will be celebrating their 70th year as a leader in the field of pressed metal engineering this year. During this time they have produced components for Lotus sports cars, Heatrae Sadia power showers, precision parts for Hamlin electronics and critical components for power stations.

Remarkably, Ladbrook remains a family owned business. Started in 1929 by Jack Spinks, under the name of Century Stampings, the company initially pressed parts for vacuum cleaners, and made press tools for various London and Birmingham engineering companies. In 1936, the company moved location and changed its name to the same as the road on which it then stood: Ladbrook Engineering Co. It was here that Ladbrook became a major supplier of 'L-Plates' for learner drivers, making them by the thousands. In 1939 Ladbrook was acquired by the war effort and was required to manufacture such articles as bomb carriers and soldiers' mess cans.
After the war, the company was involved in making parts ranging from wheels for toy cars to special boxes and keys for night watchmen. In 1947 Ladbrook moved to its current location of North Walsham in Norfolk and went on to create a large modern factory and become the highly respected modern engineering company that it is today. It is at this factory that Ladbrook have produced parts for Lotus sports cars, the power industry, double glazing manufacturers and fire protection companies, just to name a few. In fact, with its constant investment in technology, Ladbrook has produced over 150 million parts in a single year at the North Walsham site.

"Our family has very much retained its passion for engineering and although we can look back at the past with a great deal of pride, we are equally excited about the future," said Jane Turrell, Financial Director and granddaughter of founder Jack Spinks.

"It’s always been in the nature of Ladbrook to look towards innovation and technology in order to maintain its leading position in the engineering marketplace. So, although we'll be celebrating, we are not the type of company that will be resting on our laurels. We have further plans for expansion and investment, it should be an exciting year".

The core of Ladbrook's business is the high speed pressing of metal components from sheet metal. Using highly technical automated progression press machine tooling, Ladbrook is able to provide high quality, volume manufacturing of metal components at very competitive rates. For large heavy gauge components e.g. cooker parts, it uses specialist, powerful ‘stacked multi-tool machines’.

"What makes Ladbrook special is that we strive to embrace the best of modern technology but also look to maintain the traditional values and quality of British engineering," said Mike Blowers, Managing Director. "We are fortunate to have very talented and experienced engineers and enthusiastic production staff. It’s rewarding to know that the components we produce exist in leading European brands that are being sold worldwide".

Ladbrook has recently launched its new website www.ladbrook-pressed-metal.co.uk
which has been designed to attract the attention of manufacturers in the UK and mainland Europe. In addition to this, Ladbrook has made major investments in automated sheet metal tooling in order to broaden the range of services it is able to offer prospective customers.

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