Ellis story
Here at J.T. Ellis, we have a long and varied history that stretches all the way back to 1891. It's this history that makes us who we are today.
1891
Master cabinet maker J.T. Ellis established the company in 1891 to make high-quality bespoke furniture, manufacturing baptism fonts and church furniture.
1920's
The 1920s saw the second generation of the family, Bill, Edward and Tom, join the business.
1940's
By the time the ’40s rolled around, we had expanded our product range to include mantlepiece and fire surrounds, and even became a supplier of wooden glider aircraft components as part of the war effort.
1950's
The 1950s saw the introduction of even more Ellis products as we began the manufacture of domestic kitchens for housebuilders and retailers, including well-known names like Harrods. This period also saw us expanding into bathrooms as we started making 'Vanity’ furniture for the Formica brand as well as TV stands to support the growing demand brought about by the growing popularity of TVs.
1960's
In the 1960s the third generation of the family, Roger, Charles and James joined the business. This decade also saw us beginning our manufacture of traditional wooden desks for schools, up and down the UK.
1970's
Throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, we made timber TV cabinets for our customers across the country, however, with the emergence of Japanese TVs in the 1970s we saw a severe drop in demand for TV cabinets. Whilst the loss of the TV cabinet business was disappointing, it was soon replaced when Ellis won a significant government furniture contract, an NHS contract for high specification furniture and the YPO school furniture contract.
1980's
The 1980s saw one of the company’s biggest single changes, with the building of a brand-new state-of-the-art factory on Silver Street, Huddersfield, further expanding our operation and supporting the continued growth of our MOD and university sectors.
1990's
Following spells working in other industries and other countries, Richard and Tom Ellis (J.T.Ellis' great-grandchildren) joined the family business. They spent time working in each of the departments as part of the team to gain a detailed understanding of all aspects of the business operation. Meanwhile, our kitchen and bathroom range continued to grow at an excellent pace as homeownership continued to grow.
2000's
In the 2000s Britain’s love affair with interiors blossomed – Ellis continued to offer cutting edge kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furniture for the retail and house building sectors. As the leisure industry developed, a range of hotel furniture was launched, catering for independents and groups right across the UK.
In 2004 we also secured the SLAM (Single Living Accommodation Modernisation) project which resulted in the manufacture of 30,000 bedrooms over the course of 10 years. This period also marked an impressive 30-year relationship with YPO.
2010's
This period saw a significant amount of modernisation within the business with the upgrade of the manufacturing plant, investment in I.T. & systems – winning the accolade of Autodesk Worldwide Inventor of the Year.
Having supplied a number of care home groups over the years, and with changing UK demographics, a brand-new product range was developed to meet the specific needs of this emerging and important sector. This period also saw the launch of our hand-painted kitchens and bathrooms timber collection 1891 and we continued to supply to housebuilders and independent retailers across the UK.
2020's
To this day we still hold the values that J.T. Ellis had set the business up with 130 years ago. Meanwhile, we continue to invest in our future with our multi-million-pound investment to modernise our production line, to create a world-class, fully automated, and optimised MFC line while continuing to make products that stand the test of time.
To find out more follow the link at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jKr_3HGnic.