Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town in West Yorkshire, England. It is the 11th largest town in the United Kingdom, with a population of 162,949 at the 2011 census.
A Desirable Location
Huddersfield has one of the largest economies within the Leeds City Region and is home to a satisfying mix of world-leading organisations and smaller creative businesses. Yet the cost of living remains relatively low, making Huddersfield and surrounding towns desirable locations for businesses and individuals alike.
Neoclassical Victoria architecture is can be seen in buildings such as the railway station, and in the town centre. The town is close to the Pennines, and good distance to an array of major towns and cities including Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and Manchester.
In fact, Huddersfield is an integral part of the Leeds City Region, the majority of which is within a 1‑hour drive. As a single economic unit, Leeds City Region has a population of 2.9 million, a labour force in excess of 1.3 million and an annual economy of £52bn. The area’s economy is worth £5.75bn. GVA (Gross Value Added) is projected to increase by 37%, equivalent to £2bn, by 2026.
It has the third-largest manufacturing employment base in the country (behind Birmingham and Leeds) with 30,300 jobs. A total of 13,930 employers are based within the Huddersfield area, employing 150,200 individuals.
Economy
The town’s largest employer is now the University of Huddersfield is the largest employer. However, it is perhaps most well known for textiles, chemical and engineering companies; including Brook Motors Ltd founded by Ernest Brook in 1904, that would become known all over the world.
Against conventional wisdom, he started making alternating current electric motors, and he did this in one room with two assistants and starting capital of just £300. On its 50th anniversary in 1954 it employed more than 2,000 people and, with Ernest’s sons Frank and Jack in charge, was the largest exclusive producer of AC motors in the world, and had a turnover of £4,500,000.
That same year Brook Motors Ltd operated 10 factories in Huddersfield, its biggest being Empress Works on St Thomas’s Road, and had just opened one at Barugh Green, Barnsley.
Cummins Turbo Technologies (turbocharger manufacturers), Huddersfield Fine Worsteds (textiles), Taylor & Lodge (textiles), C & J Antich (textiles), Syngenta AG (agro-chemicals), Pennine Radio Limited (electronics transformers and sheet metalworking) and a large number of niche manufacturers, such as Dual Seal Glass (maker of spandrel glass panels) and Ellis Furniture (producer of kitchen and bathroom furniture).