Denford Engineering was Founded
Denford was founded by Horace Stanley Frederick Denford, grandfather of the present Chief Executive. Horace was already an experienced engineer when he came to Halifax from London to escape the bombing during the blitz; and in the closing years of the war, he established Denford Engineering, at Box Tree Mills in Halifax – a company which manufactured a range of engineering inspection/measuring equipment and tool holders.
Box Tree Mills, Halifax
Denford moved part of their manufacturing operation to Box Tree Mills in Wheatley, Halifax, in the closing years of the war. Having set up in the “Box Mill” plant, a new company named “Denford Machine Tools” was created, and manufacture started of two small precision bench lathes branded “Box-Ford”. These machines were offered for sale at a suggested price of around £175, and had a production run in excess of 400 units!
Birds Royd, Brighouse
In the 1950’s Denford moved their manufacturing operation to Birds Royd, Brighouse, and by the end of the 1950’s Denford were manufacturing a variety of metal and wood turning lathes, tool sharpening equipment, grinders and polishers. Viceroy lathes (wood and metal) manufactured by Denford can still occasionally be found in school Design & Technology Departments today!
CNC Machines
Horace’s son Gerald Denford took over the company in 1962 and had a huge influence in steering the company into the start of the CNC machine tool era up until the current (third) generation of the Denford family took over in 1987 and again developed new technologies for use in education and training. Gerald’s son Andrew is the present Chief Executive and his daughter Nicola is Corporate Affairs Director.
Armytage Road, Brighouse
In December 2010 Denford Limited moved to a new purpose-designed 18,500 sq ft facility at Armytage Road, Brighouse. The new premises incorporate the company’s manufacturing facilities, including 3,200 sq ft of office space, as well as a dedicated showroom, demonstration and training facility.
Expansion
In recent times, Denford has expanded its product range to include the design and manufacture of a comprehensive range of CNC mills, lathes and routers which have been specifically designed for education. Denford machines are a familiar fixture in Design and Technology and Engineering laboratories around the world.
New product development continues as a key strategy for Denford Limited, and as confirmation of this, Denford products are constantly being updated, keeping the traditions of design and manufacture firmly based in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.
