Bridgnorth firm celebrates 150th anniversary in carnival style
A world-renowned company has celebrated its 150th anniversary by delivering a special carnival event for its staff and their families.
Bridgnorth's Craven Dunnill & Co Ltd, the UK’s longest-operating tile supplier, is celebrating the landmark birthday this year.
As a result, the company wanted to give something back to staff who have helped it maintain its stance as a worldwide specialist in the manufacture of decorative ceramic tiles.
Managing director Simon Howells, said: “It is an honour and a privilege for us to work each day with the provenance and the heritage of the company at the front and centre of every tile we sell and every project we take on."
"I am proud of the passionate workforce we have and our unrivalled portfolio and commitment to British craft.
"We have a responsibility to the preservation of hand skills, craft education and excellence in British design, and are working towards amplifying these stories of our history to inform the next 150 years.”
Founded in 1872, by Henry Dunnill, the company still manufactures tiles from its original site at Jackfield Tile Works in Ironbridge.
Mr Howells, the fifth generation of his family to run the business, says the company is proud of its past, but has also continually invested in new approaches to production by embracing new technologies.
“Not many companies survive this long doing the same thing with the same product,” he said.
"We feel we are and have been champions of the West Midlands, and so 150 years is a lovely landmark for us to celebrate.
"We built the factory in Jackfield in Ironbridge, which those from the local area know as the birthplace of the industrial revolution. And, today, we still have our division of manufacturing based there, which is lovely for us."
