Menu
- 02476 678 000
Brown & Hawthorne was originally established in 1955 by Ray Hawthorne, originally based in Victoria buildings in the centre of Coventry. As the business grew, Ray relocated to Courtaulds Industrial Estate on the Foleshill Road. The company mainly produced valve seats and guides for Brico (Federal Mogul), and spare parts for Dunlop’s production lines, later expanding into the racing industry with Cosworth being their main customer.
In 1998 Ray Hawthorne retired and was succeeded by Rob Evatt, due to a compulsive purchase order on the Courtaulds site Brown & Hawthorne was forced to move once again and in 2004 moved to its current location on Spitfire Close. Due to a down turn in orders over the years the company had reduced in size by almost half since Ray’s retirement.
In May 2018 Rob retired from the business and was succeeded by Vicki Walls and Troy Poole, in 2021 Troy Poole resigned and Vicki became sole proprietor. The business survived Covid by supporting its customers and the country with the ventilator project. The business has expanded its customer base substantially and has invested in not just one but two 5 axis machining centres. The business has also invested in the turning section with two new lathes one of which is a mill-turn which will enable the business to support customers’ production needs.
In November 2023 the business was proud to have achieved ISO9001:2015 accreditation.
We are currently looking to expand our workforce so please check out our vacancies page for details on how you can join our team.
We have a small team of exceptionally talented engineers who can produce complicated parts in a wide range of materials. We mostly machine parts for the motorsport industry. One-offs, small-batch work and low-volume production.
We have a wide range of CNC milling machines and lathes and we can mill parts of various sizes. We also have 3 and 5 axis capabilities and 3D machining.
We have two twin-spindle lathes with driven tooling and bar feeders which are perfect for low volume production runs.
We have grinding facilities on-site and can surface grind plates, and we have a cylindrical grinder. We have a fully equipped temperature controlled inspection area where all our equipment is regularly calibrated.
We can machine a variety of materials such as aluminiums; steels and plastics. We hold a wide range of common materials in stock so we can offer a quick turnaround service to our customers. All our material is from reputable suppliers and certificates of conformity are available upon request.
2020 – Our first brand new 5 axis machining centre was installed which will enable us to machine complex parts in fewer operations and faster which will reduce costs and lead times.
2022 – Our second 5 axis machining centre was installed.
2023 – A new CNC lathe was installed to increase capacity.
2023 – ISO 9001:2015 accreditation achieved.
2024 – A second new twin spindle lathe with driven tooling and an automatic bar feeder ideal for low volume production machining.