History
1880
J H Richards was founded in 1880 by Job Richards, but registered in the name of his son John Hartland Richard, who later took over the running of the company. The premises of the failed Vale of Evesham Brewery in Saltley were secured and some of these buildings remain standing behind our current factory. J H Richards started by manufacturing white metal alloys, which they sold to the railway and rotating machinery industries.
In the early part of the twentieth century they grew their work force and started supplying bearings for the blossoming motor industry. They
could soon list Austin, BSA, Thorneycroft, Morris, Rover, Riley
and Alvis among their customers. At this time they also started
to refurbish white metal bearings for a wider industrial market,
J H Richards maintain their links with the motor trade through
their subsidiary company Coventry Boring and Metalling, who
specialise in vintage car engine refurbishment.
During the Second World War, J H Richards was heavily involved in the production of thick wall white metal bearings for armoured vehicles and aircraft.
After the War, the motor industry, led by America, started mass-
producing cars with thin wall bearings. Recognising that work from
the motor industry was going to decline, the Company concentrated
on securing refurbish-ment work from the metal processing and
power generation industries. As the amount of work steadily grew
and the size of bearing increased, it became clear that the original
factory was not suitable for such production, so in 1963, a
purpose-built factory was set up in front of the original building,
on the site of an old church. These are our current premises.
The last quarter of the twentieth century saw a major decline in heavy industry, so the company decided to move into the manufacture of white metal bearings to complement our more traditional refurbishment work. New manufacture now makes up around 50% of the total turnover. In 1987,
J H Richards became the first Whitemetalling company to achieve BS5750 approval and have maintained ISO approval ever since.
More recent developments have seen the introduction of sophisticated CNC machines and measuring equipment, housed in a new extension to the factory.
While J H Richards is rightly proud of its history, it recognises the needs of industry are constantly changing and that it has to service those needs. The Continuous Improvement Programme is designed to meet this challenge.
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