History

In 1901, as Britain entered a new industrial age, Arthur Lowe Dalton founded a small engineering business beneath the railway arches in Nottingham. Operating as A. L. Dalton Ltd, the company focused on petrol and crude oil engines, electric motors and early generating plants, quickly earning a reputation for practical engineering and dependable service. By the 1920s and 1930s, Arthur’s sons, Cyril and Vernon, had joined the business and Daltons expanded into woodworking machinery, a strategic move that would shape its future direction. During the wartime years, the company’s engineering work was classed as a reserved occupation, reflecting its importance to national industry.

Following Arthur’s passing in 1929, Cyril and Vernon guided the business through a changing industrial landscape. In 1957, Daltons was appointed the first independent UK stockist for Wadkin, one of the most respected names in woodworking machinery, marking the beginning of a relationship that would span decades. The 1970s ushered in a new phase of growth under third generation brothers Francis and Nigel Dalton, including the company’s bold decision to exhibit rebuilt woodworking machinery at London’s Olympia exhibition in 1971.

By 1974, Daltons had outgrown its original premises and relocated to a purpose built 20,000 sq ft facility on Queens Drive, Nottingham, which remains the company’s headquarters today. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Daltons strengthened its position through exclusive UK distributorships with leading manufacturers, and in the early 2000s made pivotal strategic acquisitions including the intellectual property and manufacturing rights to Wadkin woodworking machinery and Phillipson precision pattern sanders.