Welding Engineering Company was founded in 1979 by Steve Hartley and Ross Place, after both falling victim to the 3 day week. Following redundancy, Steve and Ross, both time-served tradesmen and in their early twenties, set about providing a welding and fabrication service from a 1,000 square foot, make-shift shed in Taylor Street, Darwen.

Business was steady and, by 1983, expansion was due. A fire at the plastics factory next door spurred the pair on to purchase a larger site on Cranberry Lane, Darwen. At a cost of £10,000, Welding Engineering Company, now comprising four, moved to the 10,000 square foot, semi-derelict site, which required major work, but was affordable.

It was at Cranberry Lane that the pair’s fortune changed. Approached by one of the first CCTV companies in the UK, they were asked to design and produce a camera tower. The pair accepted the project and set about designing the TW8 (the ST8 static 8m tower). With a design in place and manufacturing ready to commence, the customer closed down and the pair were left with a redundant design. However, within a week, they received a number of calls from the customer’s clients wishing to purchase the tower and from this the camera mounting side of the business was born.

Cranberry Lane was also the scene for the pair’s second major contract, winning business to produce motorway poles for Philips (now TYCO). With this contract, the pair were able to clear the Company’s £10,000 overdraft, £10,000 mortgage and they began acquiring the necessary machinery and skills to increase productivity.

Over the next eight years, business grew from strength to strength and during this period, in 1987, the company went Limited. With employees and machinery outgrowing Cranberry Lane, expansion was due and in 1992 the Company, and its’ 100 employees, moved to a 20,000 square foot site on Junction Street, Darwen. It was here that Ross decided to leave in order to concentrate on other interests, leaving Steve to run the Company. Over the next few years, another 35,000 square foot was purchased, to accommodate the growing Company.

Technological advancements played a part in the next phase of the Company’s development, with the introduction of digital and laser technology. With the Company outsourcing a significant amount of laser cutting, Steve took the plunge and bought the company’s first laser cutting machine in 1998. Capacity was soon reached and a second machine was purchased enabling the Company to provide a laser cutting service externally (the Company currently has four laser cutting machines to cope with the demand of this precision service).

The growth of the Company required a reorganisation of products and services, leading to the formation of three divisions; Welding Engineering, Camera Mounting Solutions and Laser Engineering. The Company also changed from WECL to WEC Group Ltd in 2003.

Still expanding rapidly, a new site was required to house stock, machinery and the 200+ employees. In 2004 land was purchased on Spring Vale Road and a purpose-built facility was created for Welding Engineering, spanning 30,000 square foot. In 2006, an additional purpose-built office block and car park was added to the site.

In 2005, m-tec was set up to facilitate the demand for street architecture. Specialising in bespoke architectural metalwork and consultancy, m-tec works with architects, artists and councils on a number of urban regeneration projects and has been responsible for the Group’s involvement in the design and manufacture of some of the most striking and unique pieces of street architecture in the UK.

At the end of 2005, Steve was approached by a local company, Precision Engineering, with an opportunity to purchase the machining company. As the Group was subcontracting machining, it made sense to bring this in-house and, in December 2005, Precision Engineering was purchased along with another 15,000 square foot of space to house the division; ran as Precision Engineering for the next 18 months, the Company made a move to re-brand the division as Hi-Spec CNC in 2007.

Still expanding, WEC Group Ltd currently comprises five divisions; Welding Engineering, Camera Mounting Solutions, Laser Engineering, Hi-Spec CNC and m-tec. The Group is currently building another 25,000 square foot purpose-built facility, due for completion in 2008, to increase much needed capacity for all divisions. Now a Company with 240 employees, a 100,000 square foot facility, £19 million turnover and the rarity of still being privately-owned, the small welding and fabrication company set up in 1979 has become one of the biggest UK suppliers in their field and a major employer in its’ local community.