A Man, a Mill,
and a Lot of Metal Powder
In 1945, the war had just ended and Britain was rebuilding. Ronald Britton, along with his wife Mrs B.C. Britton as co-director, saw an opportunity. The manufacturing industries powering the country’s recovery all needed the same thing: aluminium pastes, bronze powders, and metallic printing inks.
They set up in modest premises on Lever Street, Manchester. The early product range was eclectic. Aluminium flake, bronze powders, lead, zinc, antimony, even tinsel powders (yes, glitter). Printing inks were manufactured by Ronald’s brothers AGW and FR Britton down in London. It was a proper family operation.
By 1946 they’d already outgrown Lever Street, moving to larger premises at 37 Brown Street that could handle both office and warehouse, and they acquired a mill in Kettleshulme, Cheshire for dyeing bronze powders and manufacturing metallic pastes. They even had a side business screen-printing metallic colours onto dress fabrics. Busy times.
Screen CredentialsTrusted on BAFTA‑winning productionsOur metal finishes appear on sets, props and hero pieces across award‑winning UK film & television.Still in Rochdale.
Still Answering
the Phone.
After Lever Street, Brown Street, Kettleshulme, Alderley Edge, Deansgate, and a few more stops, we’ve landed at Buckley Road, Rochdale. Right in the heart of Greater Manchester, close to the industries we've always served, with stock on site and a team that picks up when you call.
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