Lifetime award for ‘inspirational’ Yorkshire business veteran

The 89-year-old founder of the Huddersfield firm Trojan Baths has been presented with a prestigious award.

Maurice Mosley, who set up his company in 1975, picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BKU Awards, which celebrate the best of the kitchen and bathroom industries.

The accolade he received is only open to people who have served the industry for more than 20 years and have played a significant role in it’s success.

Mosley, who was born in Huddersfield, said: “From the very beginning I knew I wanted to retain manufacturing here in Yorkshire.

“I want to employ people from the local community, give them the training to consistently produce a top quality product and continually invest so we can offer fairly priced goods for a wide range of customers, both at home and around the world”.

Mosley left school at the age of 14, serving as an apprentice pattern maker before finding himself working in the contract plumbing industry with the Grahams Group.

After leaving Grahams he set up a builder’s merchant called Central Building Supplies.

However, a bad deal on the purchase of 400 baths had a devastating effect on a contract for a house builder resulting in an 80% recovery of debt, the closing of Central Building Supplies and the bank forcing the sale of the Mosley family home to recover losses.

Mosley vowed he would in future only make his own baths, in order to never end up in this situation again.

Trojan made its first bath in in 1975 and by 1978 the average output was around 150 baths a week. A huge fire in 1978 wrecked the company’s property, leading to Mosley being arrested on suspicion of arson.

Only when it came to light that there was no insurance did the police offer him a sincere apology. The actual arsonist was later caught.

Today Trojan employs 170 people over three sites in Huddersfield and current Managing Director, David Mosley, said he was confident about the future of the business.

“We remain busy and continue to support jobs and in turn the local economy,” he added.

“The market remains challenging and we cannot take anything for granted.

“We continue to invest in new plant, equipment and people to continue the great legacy that my father created.

“At almost 90 years old, dad still comes into the office every day and has an opinion on everything too.

“He is a true inspiration and we are thrilled his hard work and dedication to the bathroom industry has been recognised in such a public way”.