Bradford firm Thorite offers click-and-collect web store as it signals £10m growth plans

A Yorkshire supplier of air and fluid power products is celebrating the centenary of its incorporation with the opening of a new click-and-collect web store and by announcing growth plans.

Thorite, which is headquartered in Bradford and has ten branches nationwide, has actually been in continuous operation since 1850 but was incorporated as Thomas Wright on November 7, 1921.

It wants to “put customer service at the heart” of its continued 100-year celebrations with the launch of a state-of-the-art webstore offering a click-and-collect service for more than 30,000 products, including more than 100 brands of pneumatic, compressed air, vacuum and fluid handling components.

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Managing director Stephen Wright said the company’s strong focus on customer service and “aftermarket support” was central to its successful trading history and would help drive its plans to achieve £10 million growth over the next five years.

Thorite HQ in Bradford.Thorite HQ in Bradford.
Thorite HQ in Bradford.

He added: “We worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure our customers received the products and support they required.

“That experience gave us valuable insight into the ways customers interact with the company and inspired us to develop a webstore which is easier, faster and more intuitive.”

Originally, the company started as a mill furnisher, supplying various essential accessories to the thriving textile trade. After setting up in 1850, Thomas Wright was a one-man operation with 15 employees, supplying enterprises such as Listers, Salts, Illingworth Morris, and others.

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By the turn of the century, Bradford had risen to international prominence as the world’s textile and woollen capital. The city grew to be one of Europe’s wealthiest.

The company had become a major stockist to the motor trade by the 1930s, carrying a full range of spares, including crown wheels and pinions, exhaust systems, suspension springs, pistons and many more items.

In the 1990s it set up the Thorite Academy began offering Pneumatics courses to industry professionals, while continuing as a market leader.