John Walton (Machine Tools) Ltd

John Walton, our founder, decided in 1973 that there was a gap in the market for a “One Stop” supplier of Chucking Equipment. For a number of years, John had been selling Workholdingscan0001 Solutions for the Woodworth Division of Pratt Burnerd, Halifax – mainly into the Automotive and Aerospace sectors. He had noted how many new machine tools of the era were delivered to the customer with different brands of Workholder fitted as standard, and that the sourcing of spares or additional tooling could be a nightmare for the OEM.

The decision was made, and on 1st January 1974, John Walton (Machine Tools) Limited was opened for business, based in John & Phyllis’ spare bedroom.

There was support in early days from daughter Anne, and son in law Chris Young – it wasn’t too long before the business grew sufficiently to allow them to join the business – and further growth ensued. During this time partnerships with all the leading manufacturers of Chucks & Cylinders, Centres and Collets flourished, and many succesful relationships with customers established – most still standing today.

The business was soon relocated to the current premises at the Smithy – a short walk from the orignal Cawcliffe Drive base giving facilities for stock storage and office suites.

The third generation of the family became involved when Mark, son of Anne and Chris joined the team in 1984 to help take the business forward. The aquisition of several exclusive agencies soon followed – these are detailed within the pages of this site – and the business indeed grew, soon acheiving a turnover in excess of £1m.

Today we operate with the same family business philosophy and maintain the customer care ethic John Walton established the business upon. We are still sourcing product from the four corners of the world, and service the whole country from our base in West Yorkshire, both directly, and through a network of distributors and agents.