Date: 11 12 2014
In 1950, John Houghton, a young family man, working long and
hard, in his small one man business, as a craftsman joiner,
wheelwright and furniture designer, saw in his mind how vehicle
bodies could be much improved, through innovative design, materials
and improved construction methods and decided to re-focus his
energies into this new and expanding market. Through sheer
determination, endurance and expertise, John founded, with his wife
Bertha, Houghton Parkhouse in Milnthorpe, South Lakeland. He
worked in the barn next to his house, often non-stop to complete
work undertaken, he produced jig systems to production times and
this allowed him to employ unskilled labour. At first he
worked in timber and steel retraining as necessary to keep up to
date with manufacturing skills and improving productivity but not
to the detriment of quality. It is from these humble
beginnings Houghton Parkhouse was founded and continues to thrive,
reinvesting in the original principals of its founder.
Today, Houghton Parkhouse are renowned for their award winning
designs and fabrication of multi-deck livestock transporters and
trailers for the professional haulier and farming communities in
the UK and EU. Being able to develop the site in Milnthorpe
by additional land acquired from Dallam Tower Estate, helping
Parkhouse to make this possible.
John's son, Michael Houghton, a design engineer, first a partner
who then took over the business in 1986, and within the last five
years his two sons, Steven and David, designers in their own right
have now joined the family business. Both having first
studied and worked in the UK and abroad to gain a wider knowledge
of product design and development, bringing their experiences and
expertise back to Parkhouse.
Animal welfare and operator safety is a prominent feature in the
design features within a Parkhouse Livestock Transporter and
through their innovative design, research and product development,
Houghton Parkhouse have possibly done more for the welfare of
livestock during transportation than anyone.
The company previously achieved the highest acclaim in their
industry when
