230 years young!
16th May 2017

Staff at West Bromwich-based hardware supplier KENRICK are celebrating 230 years since the company was founded by Archibald Kenrick in partnership with buckle-maker Thomas Bolton – and 190 years since Archibald Junior joined to give the company the full name ‘Archibald Kenrick & Son’, a name it is still known by today.

Kenrick originally manufactured buckles and livery fittings from a 4,000 square yard site close to the Birmingham canal in West Bromwich. The company continually traded through both world wars and, during the Second World War, it even manufactured 7 million hand grenades and 1.5 million 2-inch mortar bombs, to aid the war effort.

The company still manufactures from the same site and, for more than 100 years, has been supplying components for windows and doors.

Steve Jones, managing director said: “Archibald was a brave 27-year old entrepreneur and he set the business up for an extremely long heritage in the UK. The Kenrick family was well-known in the area and the company employed hundreds of local people. We still have a strong presence within the community and there are several landmarks named after our business, including the local park, Kenrick Park and the main road, Kenrick Way.

“This is a terrific milestone for our company and I feel privileged to build on this amazing pedigree. I’m genuinely excited about the next phase in the future of this business.”

www.kenricks.co.uk