GROUP HISTORY

Special Steel Co Ltd was originally founded in 1925 by Bennett Beardshaw with the intention to produce and trade in tool steels. Heat treatment was merely a process involved in the production of these steels. However Bennett's technical expertise in this area, soon led to the company evolving into the leading the sub-contract heat treatment company of its day. By the 1930's, with a rapidly growing order book, the need for a mechanical testing facility was rapidly becoming a high priority, and in 1939 Special Testing Ltd was set-up to provide just such a service. Over the following decades, the two companies continued to grow and invest heavily in the latest technology. In 1971 a complete new hardening and tempering department was built, capable of handling 21' 6" (6.55m) bars with weights up to 4 tonnes. In the following years the annealing shop was rebuilt, utilising the latest high technology Bogie Heath Furnaces with capacities up to 25 tonnes.

In 1981 Special Testing (Non-Destructive) Ltd was formed to take advantage of the latest testing techniques. Utilising Ultrasonic, Dye Pennetrant and Magnetic Particle testing technology, operators were able to offer customers on-site testing.

1986 saw a return to the original intentions, with the formation of Special Quality Alloys Ltd, a company dedicated to the processing and distribution of the latest generation super alloys.

With the growth of the Group businesses, Special Steels Ltd was formed to look after the day to day processing of Heat Treatment work, whilst Special Steel Co Ltd moved to look after the general interests of the Group. In 1995, the Special Steel Group purchased land on Bessemer Road. This enabled the construction of 3 new 10 metre furnaces, each with a capacity of 25 tonnes and importantly high furnace to quench transfer speeds, ensuring that Special Steels Ltd continued to lead the way in investment, technology and capacity.
It also enabled Special Quality Alloys to relocate to the site, to take advantage of a much larger warehouse, enabling a greater stock range to be carried.

1996 saw the purchase of G H White & Co Ltd, an independent sub-contract heat-treatment company specialising in smaller components. This saw Special Steels capacity range grow, enabling components weighing less than 100g through to furnace loads of 25 tonnes to be treated the most cost effective manner.

In 1999 the Group purchased Hawk Engineering, to compliment the growing demand for machined components seen through Special Quality Alloys Ltd. Through continued investment, Hawk Engineering is now able to offer manufactured parts to the tightest tolerances in some of the worlds toughest alloys.

Today, the Special Steel Group remains privately owned, yet continues to invest heavily, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of the materials processing industry