Our history

East Coast casting is a business rich with history. Learn about our journey below.

1786

A blacksmith’s forge was opened on the site at Norwich Road, Carbrooke, later expanding to include an iron foundry, trading mostly in agricultural goods for local farmers, etc. The iron foundry was trading under the control of the same two families, Page & Hunton, for approximately 200 years.

1969

East Coast Casting Company began trading in 1969, from premises in Melton Constable, Norfolk, producing sand castings in various non-ferrous metals. The firm was headed by Wilfred Henry Isbill (formerly of Blandy Isbill Foundry in Slough), assisted by his two sons, Michael & Edward.

1970 - 1980

Business was good and the company moved premises in Shipdham, Norfolk in the early 1970s. Following the death of Wilfred Isbill, and the departure of Edward due to ill heath, Michael was joined by Barry Sutton & Adrian Bennett, and the firm was incorporated as a Limited Company in 1980.

1980 - 1985

The eighties was a difficult period for British manufacturing and during that time many foundries up and down the country were closing. Thankfully, due to efficient organisation & the advantage of a wide customer base, East Coast Casting was able to survive, even to flourish.In 1983 the company began trading with a small pattern shop & non-ferrous foundry based in Suffolk, run at the time by Jim Thackeray, who is now works manager at East Coast Casting.

1985

Page Hunton Foundry Ltd place in receivership.

East Coast Casting Co Ltd acquires the premises and business from the receiver, moving from Shipdham to Carbrooke. The former manager of Page Hunton, Mike Wynne, joined the board of ECC at this time, and the production staff were also retained.

This takeover gave ECC, for the first time, the ability to offer both ferrous and non-ferrous castings, including pattern-making facilities, and this has proved to be a vital selling point in the modern business environment.

1985 - 1999

Trading continued strongly throughout the nineties and the company enjoyed steady growth, including considerable expansion and modernisation of the Carbrooke site, including the introduction of facilities for casting SG Iron, Steel & Stainless Steel castings, which had not been previously produced at Carbrooke

2000 - 2006

In August 2000, Mike Wynne retired through ill health and sadly died the following May. Barry Sutton retired as a director in December 2004, although still retains an interest in the company. In 2005, Barry’s son, Nick, was appointed to the board, together with the third generation of the Isbill family, Mike’s son, Chris. Following Adrian Bennett’s retirement in January 2006, the company was now left with only one original member, Mike Isbill.

2006 - present

In the 21st century however, the foundry industry is shrinking again, along with its customer base, and ECC Ltd is managing, as in the past, to ride out the storm and adapt to changing markets. We now look forward to a period of stability and hopefully many more years of production on this site, offering a wide choice of high level service to our customers, both old and new.

East Coast Casting Brochure

East Coast Casting Brochure

Take a look at our brochure to understand our capabilities and how we can help you. If you have any questions or would like to see more please contact us. Or, download our Fireside Brochure for specific information on our firebacks, grates and dog irons.
Download General Brochure
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