Our History

The Company and the Building

James Heal was established in 1872 and is a family-owned and run testing instrument and test materials manufacturer, operating from a multi-storey, former textile mill, in Halifax (just behind Dean Clough), which dates back to the 1850s.

Halifax, along with Huddersfield and Bradford, was the epicentre of the global wool textile industry. The building which is home to James Heal’s headquarters and manufacturing facilities is a combination of Lake View and Hayley Hill Mills – both former textile spinning, weaving and finishing mills, which flourished during the 19^th Century, employing hundreds of local workers. The Company purchased Lake View Mill in 1962, and acquired the adjacent Hayley Hill Mill thirty years later as part of their expansion plans for production equipment and distribution.

Our Legacy and Present Day

The success of our business has been achieved through the drive, tenacity and expertise of our people – who combine a range of commercial, engineering and textile knowledge. One person has had a massive influence on the Company’s growth: our chairman and managing director, David Repper.

David Repper is a Chartered Textile Technologist and joined his father Harry Repper in the late 1960s, when the Company was producing a small range of testing equipment - but this was not its core business at the time. In fact, the Company was acting as an Agent, representing major European textile machinery manufacturers for weaving, spinning and finishing; these included manufacturers such as Belgium-based Houget Duesberg Bosson, who specialised in ring spinning machines.

In 1982, David took to the helm as Managing Director and has been instrumental in focusing the business on textile testing. Staff at James Heal would describe David as “the driving force of the business”, and he certainly has massive amounts of energy and enthusiasm!

Today, the Company comprises four operating divisions: Testing Instruments; Test Materials; Service and Calibration; and Technical Assistance – a product and service mix designed to provide the total solution for our customers worldwide.

We provide our equipment to textile and garment manufacturers across the globe, many of whom supply well-known retailers, renowned for high quality standards including: Next, BHS, Marks & Spencer, Nike, adidas, Victoria’s Secret and Louis Vuitton.

We innovate, not imitate!

Our product range sets the standard. It’s also a product range which is often imitated – but never equalled. The dedication, knowledge, precision, craftsmanship, ingenuity, skill and expertise behind every one of our product designs is what makes a James Heal instrument unique above similar products in the market. We are confident that when you use a James Heal instrument – you are using the very best of breed.