275 year-old firm gets crafty with major investment

HAND tool manufacturer Richard Carter Ltd has invested £250,000 on machinery, as well as beginning work on warehouse on-site.

The newly-acquired wood-turning machine will improve efficiency by 20% according to the family-run firm.

Richard Carter’s site in Honley, Huddersfield is also set for the construction of a 9,000 sq ft warehouse facility next to their main factory site.

Radcliffe Construction was appointed to the build, which is designed to meet customer demand by providing additional storage, expanding on the current 50,000 sq ft site.

The firm is the second-oldest family-run firm in Yorkshire, and is celebrating its 275th anniversary this year.

Managing director, Richard Carter said: “The new wood-turning machine is cutting edge technology which will drastically improve both efficiency and productivity and make us significantly more competitive as a business.

“The new equipment combined with the site expansion shows that we’re putting all the necessary measures in place to accelerate our growth.

“We want to build on the 275-years of quality manufacturing that our forefathers have set the precedent for and we’re looking forward to the opportunities that the new warehouse facility and the new machinery will provide in doing so.”

Jeremiah Carter established the firm in 1740 in West Yorkshire village Highburton and its growth followed that of the UK’s coal mining industry, which fuelled the Industrial Revolution.

Richard Carter Ltd was incorporated in 1909, and supplied efforts in the first and second World Wars.