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Visit by Brian Hall, Editor
The company now has three main areas of business: steel stockholding, fabrication, and, of course, tools. It operates from Bakewell Road, Matlock, in Derbyshire, an address it has a long association with, though not as long as the history of the company itself.
The company’s striking Twigg logo carries on the name of the man who founded it - a farmers son, born locally in 1881.
Unsurprisingly for a man who founded such a successful business his imagination and acumen meant he was not destined to be a farmer himself. He developed an interest in second hand plant and machinery and an eye for a speculative deal. In 1905 he started in business by borrowing money to buy Slack Quarry, Ashover for his first major purchase. In 1911 he was able to set up his first office, in Station Yard, Matlock, from where he bought, refurbished and resold stone crushers, separators and quarry plant - some being exported to quarries all over the world.
The company’s residency in Bakewell Road began when he rented premises on the site of the old bus station.
Twigg had a real eye for a business opportunity and the company continued to grow as
over the next few years he continued to speculate, always being interested in a deal if he thought he could make a profit.
For example in the 1920’s he bought a building, Wingerworth Hall and took two years to demolish and recycle all the material. Another purchase was a North Wales Mine and associated cottages for demolition and recycling. Another profitable deal in the 1930’s, he purchased Ilam Hall, now a Youth Hostel, and resold it to Sir Robert McDougall, the flour magnate. He purchased Mill Close Lead Mine, one of the largest in the world, to recycle all the machinery and equipment.
As he continued the projects got bigger and more ambitious, his greatest gamble in those early days was to tender for and purchased the Manifold Valley Railway - nine miles of track, engines and stations - and then immediately resold it to one of the other bidders at a considerable profit.
For the next couple of decades, as the company grew, he purchased more land on Bakewell Road enabling the building of the forerunner to today’s Dimple Road office and stores and the establishment of today’s Steelyard operation.
In the early 1930’s Dennis Upton who was a qualified engineer joined William Twigg and took responsibility for the fabrication section. The company erected new quarry buildings and plant all over Derbyshire, and further afield as Scotland
An important year in the development of the modern company was 1934, when Harry Allen joined the company, and was responsible for developing the Engineers Stores on Dimple Road - the connection between Allen and the business became permanent when he married Twigg’s only daughter Doris.
In 1946, after over forty years of growth and development, the business was incorporated as a private limited company, under the stewardship of directors William Twigg, his wife Florence Twigg, daughter Doris Allen, son in-law Harry Allen and Dennis Upton
Fifty-three years after he founded the company William Twigg died, leaving daughter Doris, Harry and Dennis Upton, to steer it through the next period.
In the late fifties Gerald Newton joined the company. He was an extremely hard working and reliable member of the management team in the Engineers Merchants Section. He was made a Director in 1973 and retired in 2002 after more than 40 years service.
David Allen, William Twigg’s grandson, is the current managing director. He joined the company in 1968 working alongside his father Harry throughout the 1970’s, before taking over the reins in the early 80’s. His wife, Sheila, joined the company in the late 70’s. She was instrumental in computerising the business in the mid 80’s and is in charge of personnel and finance.
In 1980 John Shipman joined the company as a director, taking over responsibility for Steel and Fabrication in early 1982. He has been influential in increasing the sales and development of both the steelstock and fabrication sections.
The company is very lucky to have had an excellent work force which has shown loyalty and commitment over the years. Many of the staff have remained with the company in excess of 25 years and this has given the company great stability.
So when the company hit its Centenary a year of celebration was organized. The year started off with a Balloon Race Launch - the winning balloon landing at Modena in Italy. This was followed by a Centenary Trade Show, visits to sports events and a day at the races at Uttoxeter. The main event was a champagne and fireworks party at Chatsworth House when 1200 customers and the staff attended. The final event of the year was a dinner for staff and their partners - past and present at County Hall.
It had been decided prior to the start of this special year that the company should have celebrations for their staff and customers but also that it should donate £100,000 to local charitable causes. This was in recognition of the support that had been received from the local community over the years. It was decided to make a larger donation to one particular charity and then the rest would be divided up. The staff were very involved in choosing which charities benefited from the fund. The largest proportion of the money was given towards the development of a local Sports Centre which will benefit the whole community in the future.
The company now employs more than 60 staff across its three distinct divisions with a customer base of some 3000 accounts, mainly in a 30-mile radius of Matlock. The company has also supplied fabrication and engineering items as far afield as Sri Lanka and the Antartica over the last few years.
With a history of clever business decisions, it comes as no surprise that the company is a member of THS, taking advantage of this association to offer customers brands such as Hitachi, Belle, Lyte ladders and towers, Faithfull, Makita, Bosch, Facom, G&J Hall, Trend, in fact all the top products available on the market today, with the added price advantage that being a THS member makes possible.
Over a hundred years may have passed, and the company that has William Twiggs name may be very different to the one he founded, but it still carries on his tradition of excellence. The company benefits from its niche position of being very diversified both in range of products and customers. This has been a great strength over the years together with the experience and skills of its workforce. The directors and employees of today are certain he would be very proud of what has been achieved in the name of William Twigg.
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