The Origins

The origins of the manufacture of the gas controls by Peerless, can be traced back to Victorian Birmingham of the 1890’s. The original manufacturer M. Howlett and Co Ltd was located in Hockley, Birmingham.

1890

Largest UK Manufacturer

It became one of the largest UK manufactures of an extensive range of Gas Controls employing a work force of 500. In due course the company became part of the Radiation Group of Companies with factories dedicated to the manufacture of Gas Appliances throughout the UK.

1915

New Buyer

Subsequently Radiation moved to Thimblemill Road in Aston and was known as Radiation Gas Controls and Radiation Fires Ltd. The Radiation Group assets were bought by TI (Tube Investments) Group and became known as TI Gas Controls Ltd.

1967

Production Continues

Production continued on the Thimblemill site until 1979 when TI sold the company to Peerless Stampings Ltd. Peerless Stampings Ltd. had been the largest supplier of brass forgings to Howletts, Radiation and TI Gas Controls respectively. After the purchase of the company Peerless Stampings moved it to their site at Priory Road also in Aston. This enabled the existing management team and many of the workers to stay with the company.

1979

New Beginnings

With the demise of Peerless Stampings some of the management team purchased the gas line assets calling the new company Peerless Gas Controls Ltd and relocated it to Prichett Street, again in Aston. Besides the production of traditional brass based controls the company specialized in the design and manufacture of aluminium push button valves and aluminium solenoid bodies.

1985

Major Supplier

Peerless Gas Controls became a supplier to many of the major appliance manufacturers in both the UK and Europe. Peerless was moved to Tower Street in Newtown, Birmingham in the early 1990’s to reside with a sister company.

1990

Bigger and Better

The current ownership began in 2001 and due to expansion - including the purchase of Intercontrol Ltd and BIE / Diamond H Controls' assets - Peerless relocated to a larger factory in Flintshire with an additional manufacturing plant in China and offices and warehouses in Shropshire.

2001

Lomax Couplers Ltd

The acquisition of Lomax Couplers Ltd based in Burnley gave the group precision engineering capability including AS9100 aerospace approval as well as sub sea couplers and automotive components for the most prestigious vehicles.

2016

New Locations

The Whitchurch site was extended and production , test and despatch including all staff were transferred from Wales to Whitchurch to sit beside Intercontrol ltd The Peerless machine shop was relocated to Burnley under the supervision of Lomax Couplers ltd ensuring the highest quality of parts for the gas controls manufactured and supplied by Peerless.

2020

Devco and Hellbent engineering

In March 2023 Peerless acquired both Devco and Hellbent engineering by way of an asset purchase. As a result, we have successfully brought together the impressive machinery, assets, and talented workforce of these companies. We are thrilled to announce that they have been seamlessly integrated into Lomax Couplers at our Bancroft Road site in Burnley. This strategic move has not only skyrocketed our machining capacity but also increased our workforce by a staggering 50%.

2023