History

Charles Leek & Sons Limited can be traced back to the early 20th century and was formally incorporated on 28th January 1920. The company began in Leek, Staffordshire, where you can still find us today, all these years later.

But the company didn’t start life as a gear manufacturer. It actually began as a manufacturer of knitting looms designed by its founder. These looms contained a large number of gears which the company then started producing themselves after investing in a hobbing machine.

The demand for gears soon overtook that for knitting looms. The rest, as they say, is history.

The company has and always will be a traditional family business, with quality and service at the core of its values. The business is, for the first time, led by non-Leek Family members Les Rushton and Michael Harvey who, between them, have over 65 years of gear cutting and engineering experience.

With the retirement of the last active family member, the company has now become part of the IIE Group. The IIE Group seeks to acquire and develop well-established traditional engineering businesses, combining their vast skills and experience with a more forward thinking and customer focused outlook. At the same time, the Group is keen to help preserve the engineering skills that the UK is in danger of losing.