Company Profile
Founded
in 1901 Daltons are firmly established at the forefront of the woodworking
machine supply industry. Now in the third generation of family ownership
the current directors, Francis and Nigel Dalton are grandsons of the founder.
Situated in Nottingham at the centre of the country and adjacent to motorway
and rail links, the purpose built 20,000 sq ft factory showroom provides
an unrivalled setting for the viewing and demonstration of an extensive
range of new and previously owned woodworking machinery.
An Engineering Heritage
The
death of Queen Victoria in 1901 marked the end of an era and the start of
the modern industrial age. Arthur Lowe
Dalton
recognised the new world of opportunity and started the engineering company
that still bears his name a century later. Today, Daltons are regarded
in the UK and worldwide as one of the leading suppliers of woodworking machinery.
The modern business world is light years away from that of Arthur Dalton,
but the company founder would identify with the standards of excellence
and quality that remain the key to Daltons success.
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Vernon |
Cyril |
A century of trading has seen Daltons survive and prosper despite two World Wars, economic depression, an era of boom and bust, and the downturn in the British manufacturing industry. Credit for the early strength of the company goes to Cyril and Vernon Dalton, the founder’s sons, who ran the business from the early 1920’s.
In
those years, woodworking machinery was sold alongside stationary diesel
oil and petrol/ paraffin engines, electric motors and electric generating
plants. A newspaper article of the time quoted the brothers as offering
“anything from a bench-trimmer to a four-cutter, a 0.5 h.p. to a 100
h.p motor, or a 1 h.p. petrol engine to a 500 h.p. crude oil unit.”
Increasing mechanisation and demand saw Daltons developing the woodworking
machinery sector and carving 
a
reputation for rebuilding quality machinery for sawing, planing, moulding,
turning and sanding etc. Right: Crossley gas/oil engine as distributed
by the company in the 1920/30's.
In the post war ‘50’s, Daltons forged links with Wadkin, when in 1957 they were appointed the first stockist for the Leicester based manufacturer. Now forty five years on, the two companies continue their trading links with Daltons sole distributors for the Wadkin classical range of woodworking machinery. One hundred years on and the company is under the control of the third generation of Daltons, with Francis and Nigel, the directors of this multi-million pound business.
It
continues trading from a Nottingham base, but has come a long way since
those early years on Canal Street. The 1970’s proved the key
period for driving Daltons into a new era of growth. 1971 saw the company
pioneering the promotion of rebuilt woodworking machinery at national exhibition
level when they exhibited at the Building Trades Exhibition at Olympia.
In 1974, Daltons moved from Canal Street to new purpose built premises at Crossgate Drive. The building provides an unrivalled setting for the display and demonstration of an extensive range of both new and previously owned machinery. Visitors are often unprepared for the extent and quality of the equipment available. New machines from blue riband manufacturers such as Wadkin, Stenner and Elcon, bear witness to the company’s commitment to quality. Fully automatic gantry
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Francis |
Nigel |
cranes provide the modern handling solution, and visitors can see for themselves the team of highly skilled fitters, engineers and electricians at work whose skills ensure every machine leaving the premises bears the Daltons stamp of quality.In fact, nowhere is Daltons 100 years of engineering heritage more evident than in the supply of previously owned and rebuilt machines. It was in this sector that the true foundations of the company were laid by A L Dalton.
The
reputation Daltons enjoy for expertise and quality is legendary. Many seek
to emulate but few can match the standard of machine that emerges from the
workshops.
Travel the globe and discover just how far Daltons roots have spread from
Nottingham. Export success in recent years has seen particular demand from
Asia, India and the Middle East and with activity spreading across
Africa, Australasia, South America and the newly developing countries of
Eastern Europe. A recent innovation is the addition of manufacturing
to the company’s activities. The Phillipson range of sanding machines
are now built to precision standards in the Dalton workshops.
The Future
Arthur Lowe Dalton founded the company in the same year as Marconi’s first trans- atlantic message and Britain’s first submarine was launched. Today in the new Millennium, trade is dominated by e-commerce and computer controlled systems. Daltons span the generations by offering quality products backed up by old fashioned standards of service, while anticipating and providing for the needs of customers well into the next 100 years.