In 1946 James Barbour’s son, also James, decided that the time was right to move, and bought a small unit in Kelvin Avenue, Hillington Industrial Estate, The building, still the Head Office today, precipitated an increase in business as the post war rebuilding programmes began. McAlpine are now one of only two manufacturers left on the estate – a reflection of the way the manufacturing industry in the UK has declined over the past twenty years.

Initially much of McAlpine’s business in the 1960’s was coming from Local authorities. To facilitate the growth, Wylie Redman, a precision tool making company, was bought in 1962, followed the next year by the acquisition of the Johnstone factory.

The pace of change ramped up even more in the 1980’s. In 1980, 2-3,000 components were being produced across the three factories. Foreign language catalogues were being created in line with McAlpine’s expansion overseas. From the first the first ever export customer in Argentina in 1932, sales closely followed in Dubai, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Now the company exports to 90 countries worldwide.

Quality remains at the heart of the company’s success. This along with innovation and product design has given McAlpine the reputation for being a market leader. We now produce over 5000 skus, utilising 150 injection moulding machines. McAlpine’s staff too, have been very much part of the journey. In the 40 years Hillington, our original site, has gone from 85 staff employed to 230 today, and across the company we now have around 750 staff.