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 Workholding 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.