In 2023 Torr Scientific celebrates its 25th anniversary.
The company has progressed from a one-man operation to 41 persons (at the last count) working in a dedicated factory based in Bexhill-on-Sea in the south-east corner of the United Kingdom.
In 1998 the company was established when owner David Bates started working with a refurbished BOC Edwards coating system in his garage to coat X-ray anodes. He had previously worked at Edwards High vacuum and then VG Scientific, so was well versed in the coating business.
The Company then moved to a small industrial unit in Hove in 1999, having grown to 4 people at this point. Over the next 10 years, they grew to 10 employees and 2 small industrial units. Space was at a premium, so they relocated to our present Bexhill location in 2009.
The new factory was the first large industrial unit in the Pebsham Rural business centre, based in Bexhill-on-Sea. The building was an empty shell having been converted from a farm storage centre.
As the company grew and more space was required, a mezzanine was installed in 2011 to create an upper-floor in the factory. This almost doubled the available space.
In 2015 Torr acquired the second adjoining industrial unit on the same site, this unit was purpose built with a lower-floor manufacturing zone and upstairs office space.
As it stands in 2023, we currently have 12,000 sq. ft (1,150m2) of floor space, which we have almost outgrown. So looking to the future, we expect to expand in 2024/25 into yet another industrial unit.
Watch this space !
What happened in 1998?
Photos from Torr’s life
