Alroys Company History

From humble beginnings come great things, according to an ancient proverb. The same can be said for Alroys. Our company history goes back to the late 1950’s, in a small Hitchin workshop. In those days, we served the local business communities with sheet metal services using fly presses and hand tools.

Within just a few years, by 1961, we’d relocated to Stevenage and launched afresh as Alroy Sheet Metal Limited. We’re often asked about the origin of our name. In the tradition of many successful brands, it comes from a contraction of the two founders’ Christian names. They were Albert and Roy Grist.

Alroys was the first metal fabricator in Stevenage at a time when business was booming thanks to the creation of the first new town in England. New towns in the south east of England were created after WWII as an answer to the planning needs of Greater London. Sustained aerial bombardment during the war combined with years of unplanned and unmanaged growth meant Londoners were struggling with depressed (and lack of) housing, pressures on space and traffic congestion. Green open spaces in surrounding counties were identified as ripe for development and perfect for ‘mopping up’ the London overspill.

Stevenage, already a thriving market town, was designated a new town in 1946 and work began in earnest during the ‘50s. Thousands of homes were built on farmland around the centuries-old, soon to be renamed ‘Old Town’. Small villages in the vicinity were transformed into large suburban landscapes, now designated ‘neighbourhood centres’ of the new town.

A huge influx of investment and people inevitably attracted big business. During this time, we welcomed British Aerospace, Kodak, Bowater and Allied Bakeries, to name just a few, to Stevenage, creating thousands of jobs and prosperity for the townspeople.

Alroys also benefited, working hard to form long-lasting relationships with large organisations. Since our move in the early 1960s, we have worked with many major businesses within Stevenage, Hertfordshire and its neighbouring counties. Over time, this has increased our workforce and enabled us to grow. We’ve always been proud to offer a solid and respectable service to our customers, and by the late 1970s, we had grown to over 100 employees. As semi-automated technology was, at this time, fairly new in our industry, we were still manufacturing products mostly by hand.

What we stand for?

David’s arrival at Alroy’s was significant in a few ways. As the third generation of management in a family-owned business, it cemented Alroy’s position as an established organisation with solid roots offering a quality service. What’s more, David’s vision for taking the company into the 21st century has injected a renewed commercial focus to our operations. David continues to grow Alroys, enticing new customers in new sectors, such as construction, while always recognising the loyalty of our existing customers and rewarding that wherever possible.

Today, Alroys is proud to be one of the longest-running precision sheet metal and fabrication shops in the UK. With over half a century’s trading and experience, we have built up a stellar reputation with our customers. Our name is synonymous with providing high quality products, on time and with the utmost professionalism. We know Albert and Roy would be proud!