John Guest Quick Links

Company Facts: John Guest has facilities in the UK, Europe, North America, Korea and the Pacific with over 1200 employees. [2] Headquartered in West Drayton, UK, which is also the site of many of its products, the company has spread across websites in Maidenhead, Hayes, Cornwall and Bracknell in the UK. The first overseas company - John Guest SA was established in France in 1983. Two years later John Guest Pacific Ltd opened in Auckland, New Zealand and in 1986 John Guest USA Inc started life in New Jersey. John Guest Italia SRL opened in Turin North Italy, followed by John Guest Gmbh in Bielefield, Germany in 1990. With the start of 1997 new offices were established in Sydney, Australia - JG Pacific and John Guest SL in Barcelona, Spain. The first Far East operation opened in 2004, Seoul, Korea. In 2005, the company expanded its reach in Eastern Europe with offices in Ceske Budejovice, the Czech Republic and Poland.

History The company founder - John Guest was born in Doncaster in 1927. John Guest started his work life as a toolmaker apprentice in the Royal Appliance Factory in Hayes. In 1950, John Gäst had already developed his first prototype hollow pressure die-casting machine. Under the name John Guest Engineering, the newly established company specializes in tool making and fine mechanics. It is run by a small building of what is now known as Factory 1 on West Drayton site. The following year, John Guest Engineering merged with Guest Castings Ltd - a company specializing in zinc die-casting. This business is also run out of the Factory 1 site and its name remained unchanged until the early 1970s. During the 1960s, both companies grew steadily specializing in simple die-cast products and tools, consolidating their business into the white goods and automotive industry. Renamed John Guest Ltd in the early 1970s, Guest Castings began producing more complex die-cast items and machining to Britain's major pneumatic valve manufacturers. The constant expansion enjoyed by the company was also the result of the investment in the second operation-machining department and painting facilities, including an automatic black selector-phonetic paint plant. In 1978 the company known today was formed, created specifically to market products designed and produced under the group name John Guest Ltd. In 1974, Guest invented the now famous "speed fit" pipe connector concept followed by opening its second factory in West Drayton covering about 3,000 m2 the same year. and 1995. The Director of International Sales at that time was Brian Hoyle, retired in 2009 at the age of 77. He joined the organization in 1981 as Sales Manager.In 1996, John Guest received an honorary graduate degree from Brunei University. In 2010 John Guest died aged 83. The company is still in control of the family with the three sons as directors.