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Founded in 1981 as Moorhouse Engineering in Bethesda, soon to become DMM and move to more suitable premises in Llanberis in 1986, the company celebrated 30 years of manufacturing in 2011. In 1981 the company employed just four people, and now almost forty years later we are an important employer in this area with just over 200 men and women on payroll.
The original premise of the founding directors was to make the best possible equipment at the best price. A simple premise you might think, but one that has remained central to our thinking over the intervening years, and one that has spurred us on to continue to develop and innovate, to bring unique and world-leading products to the market.
From the very outset, the company has developed products in two main areas; recreational climbing and mountaineering have developed alongside products aimed more at the more industrial markets. Both areas complement each other and the areas of overlap benefit both sides. In short, both sides of the business are important to sustain us in the future.
Innovation is key to our development, and we have continually invested not just in the fabric of the Factory, in plant, machinery, tooling, etc but also in ambitious product development plans which can be very costly. However we recognize that it’s not sufficient to stand still and copy, we need to lead the field in our specialist areas, and over the years we have done just that and all from our base here in north Wales. We have a well-trained and loyal workforce and have amassed a wealth of knowledge over the years which stands us in good stead as one of the leading brands in our field worldwide.
We have just added a large extension to the Factory site to allow us to layout a purpose-built Assembly area and also a CNC machining area. This was a considerable investment for the company, but as with all our other efforts, it will enable us to be more efficient, competitive, and maintain our unique position as the sole manufacturer of climbing hardware in the UK.