Our History:

Mr Albert Edward Shorter was the father of Flame Hardening in the United Kingdom and developed the “Shorterising Process” which was a progressive flame hardening technique. Mr Shorter started the shorter Processing Company designing and manufacturing machines to undertake flame hardening on various components such as gears, cams, rollers, guide rails . The British Oxygen Company recognized the machinery as being an outlet for their gas sales and eventually bought the operation.

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The Shorter Processing Company offered to undertake trial batches of work prior to selling a machine and by default it was beginning to become a heat treatment contractor which was not the original intention of BOC. The company was sold in 1945 to a Halifax Businessman Mr Herbert Buckley who already owned and operated a successful heat treatment contractor (Holt Brothers Ltd). Under this ownership the Company installed Induction Hardening Equipment in 1950 and has since continually developed as a contractor specializing in bespoke treatment of premium engineering components.

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Flame Hardeners Ltd and Holt Brothers (Halifax) became members of Holt Heat Treatment Group (in which the family of Mr Buckley maintained a working interest until 1998) . In 1999 it was decided to separate Flame Hardeners Ltd from the group and it then became under the control of the current Management and Owners.

Over the latter years we have seen very great changes in the industries we serve and have continually adapted finding new markets or our services which we offer to companies both large and small across all industries