Birtley Building Products Ltd - A Brief History
Birtley Building Products Ltd is a wholly-owned subsibiary of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC.
Founded on the 19th July 1965, as Birtley Manufacturing Ltd, following the acquisition of a small structural steel business G.T. Duncan (Birtley) Ltd. by the Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd.
Birtley Manufacturing Ltd. continued to operate from the same Mary Avenue premises in Birtley and in addition to steel fabrications for the local mining industry and for power stations introduced
steel lintels and garage doors into their product range in 1967.
In 1973 the company was sold to Manganese Bronze Holdings Ltd, by which time the sales of doors and lintels to the building industry represented 85% of the turnover and profit of the Company.
Under Manganese Bronze the Company grew steadily until in 1979 the Company was established as a leading supplier to the building industry with distribution depots throughout the country.
A new factory had been built near Newcastle Airport and the Company had diversified into kitchen furniture and galvanizing plant installations.
Within 12 months the recession had bitten and the Company shed its diversifications,
closed its factory and returned to Mary Avenue whence the present business now
operates through wholesale merchants.
On 29th May 1981 Birtley was purchased by Hill & Smith Holdings PLC, a West Midlands engineering company with substantial steel stockholding, forging and steel fabrication businesses. Under Hill & Smith the Company now markets the Supergalv range of lintels and residential doors to the building industry, and enjoys a substantial business in sub-contract galvanizing providing a service to a wide range of industries throughout the North East of England. The Company operates from a 9 acre site at Mary Avenue, Birtley with 100,492 square feet under cover.
On October 1st 1989 the name of the Company was changed from Birtley Manufacturing Ltd. to Birtley Building Products Ltd.
The change of the name coincides with a major reorganisation of the Company's commercial activity and a significant increase in the role the Company plays
within the Hill & Smith Group. It is now the central focus of the responsibility for the sales of associate companies' products for the building industry.
In November 1995 construction of the Birtley Galavanizing facility commenced. The new plant was completed and commissioned in May 1996 for the purpose of Hot-Dip Galvanizing of steel products, using the latest technology available at that time.
Furthermore the company is demonstrably innovative in meeting the demands of the modern construction industry by developing new products and systems.
Typical of these is a brand new selection of 'Juliet' balconies and the company's latest introduction - 'Bay 6': a unique and revolutionary corner window support system.
