H.A. Davie Ltd.

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sales and Services

Since 1902

H.A. Davie Ltd was first registered as a limited company in July 1902 but had commenced trading in Sunderland several years earlier as Engineers, Millwrights and Licensed Valuers.

Henry Angus Davie was the founder and first Managing Director of the company. He was a mechanical engineer with an interest in the embryo motor trade and one of the first agencies held by the company was on behalf of the National Gas Engine Co. Ltd.

In the beginning, they were involved with machinery manufacture for other local companies. They built a foundry in the Millfield area of Sunderland which manufactured components for the shipbuilding and glass industries, including watertight doors and glass polishing machines.

During the 1920's, the company gradually moved from being solely mechanical engineers and opened a showroom in Chester Road, Sunderland from which it sold electrical equipment. In 1927 it became an agent for Frigidaire refrigeration equipment.

From this date, although continuing to work as electrical contractors, they soon became more involved in the rapidly developing refrigeration market with customers as diverse as ice cream manufacturers and local hospitals.

Between the 1930's and 1970's the company operated from premises in North Bridge Street, primarily supplying and installing all types of refrigeration equipment to commerical, and industrial clients. The company was also very active during the launderette "boom" supplying and maintaining equipment.

The 1979, the current Managing Director, David Martin-Jones, with colleagues bought the company from its previous owners with the intention of continuing to develop and expand it as specialist refrigeration and air conditioning contractors. The company moved to its current premises in Houghon-le-Spring in 1983 to enable it to provide a better speedier service to it's customers, primarily in the North East region but also throughout the U.K.

Whilst maintaining customers in many diverse commerical and industrial sectors, the company has, in recent years, become a specialist in designing and building:

• Temperature controlled hygiene facilities for food manufactures
• Coldstores and coldrooms
• Research growth rooms etc.

Although it has been involved with air conditioning since the 1960's, over the last five years the company has experienced very significant growth in the supply, installation and mainenance of equipment for all types of air conditioning applications in shops, offices, hospitals etc.

In celebrating its centenary, H.A. Davie Ltd would like to thank all its customers, many of whom we have been pleased to work with for up to fifty years, and assure them of our continued commitment to provide them with specialist refrigeration and air conditioning engineering services with personal attention from the Directors and Management of the company, now and in the future.

The Directors and Management of the company have always believed in trying to establish long term mutually beneficial business relationships with their customers. We were very pleased when we recently received a letter from a customer who was retiring from business saying,

"Thank you for your 40 years of excellent service".