A long-established engineering company has closed after serving South Cheshire for 53 years.
Newbrook Engineering (Crewe) Ltd, which employed four people in the workshop, ceased trading yesterday (June 25th).
Managing director Kevin Williams citing a series of financial challenges that made the business unsustainable.
The business manufactured and supplied steel and metalwork products, including brackets, fire escapes, structural steelwork, staircases, fencing, and related fabricated items.
Mr Williams took over Newbrook Engineering in 2013, following a long career with the business he first joined in 1982 as an apprentice.
His sister Jane worked as finance director before stepping down from this role in 2025.
A major financial setback occurred when Pochin’s Construction went into liquidation in 2019.
Mr Williams said the company was hit hard when Middlewich-based contractor Pochin went into administration owing Newbrook Engineering more than £42,000.
In a statement, he said: “This had a severe impact on the company’s cash flow and placed considerable pressure on us personally.
“We did not take full salaries in order to protect staff employment, continue trading, and keep the business moving forward while seeking new work.”
“Newbrook Engineering continued to provide fair quotations and take on suitable contracts, but deliberately avoided contracts of a scale that could expose the business to the same level of risk again.
“Staffing was kept to a minimum. At one point the company employed six people, but this later reduced to four, including an apprentice.
“The business was further affected by wider economic pressures. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 reduced incoming quotations and disrupted the flow and cost of materials worldwide, affecting the building and construction sectors generally.
“The war in Ukraine added further pressure, contributing to rising costs and instability in the supply chain.
“In addition, changes within steel production, increasing steel prices, global market pressures including competition from China, and compliance requirements such as CE marking for structural steelwork all increased the administrative and financial burden on the company.”
Mr and Mrs Williams supported the company through additional personal contributions where necessary to pay suppliers and protect staff wages for as long as possible.
“Newbrook Engineering has now reached a point where the accumulated financial pressures are no longer sustainable,” he added.
“The company is facing a tax liability that has become increasingly difficult for a small business to manage, particularly alongside inconsistent income and ongoing cost pressures.
“The business equipment is also ageing, with a number of items requiring replacement, further increasing the financial burden.
“For these reasons, and despite the longstanding efforts of the directors to preserve employment, maintain customer commitments, and continue trading responsibly, the company has reached the stage where closure through liquidation is unavoidable.”
The firm was founded in 1973 by Gerald Newbrook, producing domestic gates and small trailers and achieving early success through the invention of its Pathtidy Container system – mini skips designed for utility companies and local authorities carrying out roadworks.
A new factory was built on Crewe Gates Farm Industrial Estate in 1980, allowing the business to expand and create local jobs.
Following Mr Newbrook’s retirement as managing director in 2000, Bill Herriman led the company until his death from cancer in 2013 when Mr Williams took over.
(Additional words and images by Jonathan White)
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