Fulton Marks 50 Years of Manufacturing in the UK

Fulton Limited has celebrated 50 years of manufacturing heat transfer solutions in the UK by hosting a ceremony and party at the M-Shed in Bristol for distributors, dignitaries and employees past and present.

Established in Bristol in 1966 and initially manufacturing a range of vertical tubeless steam boilers primarily for the laundry and dry cleaning market, Fulton Limited is today an important manufacturing base in the corporation’s global network that also includes production facilities in the USA, Canada and China.

Ronald and Bramley Palm (the son and grandson of Lewis Palm, Fulton’s founder) from Fulton’s parent company in the USA flew in to attend the celebrations and, amongst others, were joined by former managing director and co-founder of Fulton Boiler Works, Ian Davidson, and former sales and marketing director Gordon Bareham, who were both asked to take to the floor and give speeches.

Congratulating employees past and present on their achievements over the past 50 years, Fulton Limited’s managing director Carl Knight says the company’s Bristol-based manufacturing and design facility makes it possible to design, engineer and manufacture products more efficiently and assemble completed units for whenever and wherever they are needed for domestic and export customers.

The achievements were echoed by Bramley Palm, CEO of the Fulton Group, who added that, with a pride in workmanship that is second-to-none, Fulton’s UK facility has been responsible for designing and manufacturing of some the corporation’s highest quality steam boilers and heat transfer systems. “The company has a solid reputation with great products and many more on the way,” says Bramley “and we’re looking forward to our future with the UK facility!”                    

During his speech on the day, former sales and marketing director Gordon Bareham says: “I joined Fulton in the early 1990s as the company was going through major changes in every department and further centralising its operations in Bristol. This meant building a new office block and investing in plant, machinery and an extensive mezzanine floor for storage and production offices at the former Broomhill Road facility. This was real proof of the owners’ commitment to the future of Fulton in the UK; and was quickly followed by the adoption of the ISO9001 Quality Assurance standard, with the British Standards Institute rating Fulton as an excellent example of a specialist manufacturer following and meeting the standard.

“However, perhaps the most progressive change for Fulton at that time – and a first for any UK-based steam boiler manufacturer – was the company’s move from simply manufacturing steam boilers, to designing and building skid-mounted and pre-fabricated packaged plant room heat transfer solutions, some of which didn’t even feature a Fulton boiler! While a steep learning curve for every department, Fulton succeeded and I’m proud to have played a part in what was a very important transition for the company.” says Gordon

For the company’s dignitaries, distributors and former employees, the celebrations started with a tour of the current Bristol manufacturing facility which, on the day, housed Fulton Limited’s largest ever plant room build featuring two of the company’s fuel-fired FB horizontal boilers.

Summarising, Gordon Bareham goes on to say that ten years ago, he organised the 40th Anniversary celebrations at the old facility in Broomhill Road and has fond memories of that day. “Today, when I see the magnificent new facility and the ‘monster’ plant room in build, together with the lavish celebrations, it is clear that Fulton has made great progress in the last ten years!”