Our History

Solid products, solid history
Follow the Jonesco journey

The 1960's

1967
Mr Jones founds Jonesco for the manufacture and sale of steel mudguards. These mudguards were produced in house using basic metal forming technology.

The first site is situated in an old mill in the New Hall Lane area near Preston City Centre.

The 1970's

Early 1970s 1976 Late 1970s
Early 70's
Things were going well, so we expanded into sheet metal fabrication for local businesses.
1976
A rotational moulding facility for plastic mudguards is developed using bespoke ‘rock n roll’ machines.

The company now specialise in both plastic and steel mudguards.
Late 70's
Soon enough, around half of all mudguards sold were manufactured from plastic. The company streamlines to focus on this core part of the business.

The 1980's

1982
Going global. Starting with Belgium, Holland and Sweden, we begin to export overseas.
1983
Quality and consistency became our key focus, so by 1983 all design, mould and manufacture was completed in house, allowing for greater flexibility and increased control over the production process.
1985
Spray suppression laws are introduced in the UK. This leads to a huge increase in sales of mudguards in the UK and Belgium both for OEMs and aftermarket fitment.
1985
Jonesco opens a satellite company in Lille, Northern France in order to develop the French market. This provides a stepping stone into continental Europe.
1988
The move into Europe proved successful, and after just 4 years Jonesco France upsized to a new site in Seclin.
1989
In the December, Jonesco Preston move to a 4-acre site in North Preston. The new location provides easy access to the M6 and allows for a dramatic increase in production capacity.

The 1990's

1991
Jonesco was now well established in the Commercial Vehicle market, and so development begins on extensions to the CV range, starting with on-board toolboxes.
1992
The trend of upsizing continues and Jonesco France relocate to a larger site, again in Seclin. This new location provided greater warehouse capacity.
1995
Jonesco take a big leap, installing our first ever full rotational moulding machine.

This marks a major turning point for the company as it meant we could now expand our offering beyond mudguard to include a complete range of plastic toolboxes.
1997
Following on from the success of the rotationally moulded toolbox range, we develop our first ever 6kg firebox.

The box was a first of its kind, with windows installed pre-mould rather than post mould.
1999
All these new innovations led to the need for a further increase in capacity. A warehouse with a 700+ pallet racking system and additional manufacturing capacity meant we could fulfil orders more quickly.

The 2000's

2000
Our first rotationally moulded fire stand is introduced to the fire market, boosting the company’s presence in the fire market. This marks the first instance of expansion beyond the commercial vehicle sector.
2001
Jonesco enter the new millennium by going digital.

Our new online presence meant customers globally could learn more about the company and the products we make.
2002
Jonesco France move to their biggest site yet in a newly developed commercial zone in Seclin.
2004
We decide to expand our offering to include storage boxes. The JBS65 Sand and Salt box, our first ever storage box, was made utilising pre-existing toolbox tooling.
2005
Environmental protection regulations were beginning to come into force, and so using our pre-existing rotational moulding technology we began developing a range of spill containment solutions including spill trays, work floors and IBC bunds (to name just a few!).
2006
Our decision to enter the environmental market paid off, meaning it was time for Jonesco to expand once more.

An extension was made to our Pitman Way site, giving us yet another capacity increase.
2008
We install our largest rotational moulding machines yet, allowing for the in-house production of larger products like IBC Spill Pallets.

The 2010's

2013
Jonesco open a dedicated Global Distribution centre on Forest Green in Preston. With a 2500 pallet capacity, we could increase our stock levels and fulfil orders more quickly.
2013
Jonesco achieve ISO14001 certification; an Environmental Management Standard.
2014
In February Jonesco launch their new website, rebuilt from the ground up, the site served as a great online product catalogue.
2014
Jonesco now sells to distributors in over 40 countries and around 60% of all manufactured products are exported overseas.

Jonesco enjoy at least 50% of UK market share and growth continues.
2014
Jonesco manufactured steel mudguards are discontinued after 47 years.
2017
In 2017, we marked our 50th birthday in style with a special anniversary logo.
2019
We are awarded Investors in People accreditation for our continued devotion to our people. Assessors were particularly impressed with the sense of energy and the loyalty and pride shared by our workforce.

The 2020's

2021
An exciting rebrand marks the start of a new era, Jonesco retain the internationally recognised J logo which has served us so well for many years.
2021
We take our online presence to the next level with a brand new website boasting improved navigability and some great new features.
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