HR Blowers UK Ltd History

WC Holmes to HR Blowers Ltd

1850 WC Holmes was formed in Huddersfield to manufacture industrial process equipment for town gas. WC Holmes employed up to a thousand people in the UK.

1910 WC Holmes became a private company.

1927 WC Holmes started to produce positive displacement blowers.

After being acquired by BHD Engineers – who also owned Bryan Donkin Co – WC Holmes became established as a leading company in the supply of gas systems and generators, along with their range of blowers.

1947 Acquisition of B Thornton Ltd and Schoffield & Taylor Ltd.

1949 BHD was formed as a public company to acquire WC Holmes and Bryan Donkin Co.

1973 BHD sold WC Holmes to the London based firm Peabody. Peabody manufactured scrubbers used to process flue gases. The new firm of Peabody Holmes would continue to develop and manufacture industrial blowers, many of which still form a core part of the HR Blowers UK Ltd range such as the as well as HR 80 Blowers, RBTM Blowers, HV Boosters, XLP and Trinado Blowers. These products and spares are still manufactured and serviced by HR Blowers UK Ltd..

1990 Dresser Roots acquired Peabody Holmes and the Huddersfield factory and added more blower products to the range produced including the Trinado Tri-Lobe range.

2007 Dresser Roots Huddersfield business was sold to Mr Martin Adams. Under the current name of HR Blowers UK Ltd the factory moved to nearby Holmfirth and continued manufacturing. HR Blowers retained a majority of the original workforce. Since then, HR Blowers Ltd has undergone controlled expansion offering an increased product range and priding itself on minimum delivery lead times, highest quality, high efficiency, and unsurpassed reliability.

2014 KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) with The University of Huddersfield – Blower design and function optimisation.

2015 Pneumatic Conveying UK Ltd was established combining both blower technology and bulk solids handling expertise.

2016 Second KTP with The University of Huddersfield – Pneumatic Conveying System design and application. First Blower application optimisation project completed in Portugal.

2017  Relocated the Engineering & Design facility in conjunction with the Sales & Operations department into a purpose-built office suite.
Major financial investment to optimize HR Blowers UK Ltd web site increasing UK and International sales presence.
Currently building a new blower and pneumatic testing facility offering FAT and further design & development optimization.

Company Timeline

Click each year to see heritage

WC Holmes Company founded

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