The Company was founded by Arthur Bodycote in Hinckley in 1923 as a textile business under the name of G.R. Bodycote Ltd.[4] It was acquired by Slater Walker in 1951 and demerged from them in 1973.[4]
It refocused on its present activities in the 1970s, particularly in bullet-proof and flame retardant clothing in the specialist materials sector. From 1979 onwards it made a series of acquisitions, the first of which was Blandburgh, a heat treatment business.[5] In 1980, it went on to buy Zinc Alloy Rust Proofing Ltd, which was the beginning of its metallurgical coatings business.[6]
In 1990, Bodycote acquired Metallurgical Testing Services Ltd (MTS) of Edinburgh from Murray International plc, laying the foundations for what would become Bodycote's materials testing business. In 2008, the materials testing division was sold to private ownership, leading to the founding of the testing company Exova.[7] In 1991, it bought HIP Ltd, a leading Hot Isostatic Processing business.[8] In December 2000, the company bought Lindberg Corporation, the largest heat treatment business in the United States.[9] The company changed its name from Bodycote International plc to Bodycote plc in April 2008.[10]
Operations
Bodycote's head office at Tytherington Business Park in Macclesfield
