The Full Story

The Hill Brush Company was established by Fred and Bill Coward in 1922, after some earlier experiments with brush making by Bill. Their interest in brush making was possibly inspired by the fact that their Father had, amongst other occupations, produced wooden brush stocks.

The founders of the Company were later joined by their respective sons David and Richard, and Bill's son-in-law Brian Thomas. The company is now run by the third generation. One of David's sons Philip is Managing Director, and his other son Martin is the Finance Director, whilst Richard's son Peter runs our subsidiary company in the U.S.A. The fourth generation is now involved with the business with Philip’s son Charles running the Marketing operation.

The Company originally specialised in dairy and agricultural brushes, and within a few years many of the streets from Hampshire to Cornwall were being swept with brushes that had been made by Hill Brush. They also produced brushes for milk bottles and were one of only two manufacturers of this type of brush outside the United States, exporting them to many parts of the world.

The business began in a very small building, which has now been demolished, near to the centre of Mere, in Wiltshire, England. It quickly grew, and in 1927 moved to Lordsmead Mill, a disused silk mill, where the waterwheel provided power for the drills that bored holes in the brush stocks. The brushes were all handmade at this time. The factory moved to its present 10 acres (4 hectares) site in Woodlands Road, on the southern side of Mere in 1935/36.

The company is unique in having its own brush fibre-dressing department which was started in 1926, and now processes all types of natural fibres from many parts of the world including Sierra Leone, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mexico, China, Lesotho and Brazil. Many of the natural fibres are also mixed with synthetic materials. The fibre dressing department enables the company to offer special mixtures at short notice.

Whilst the company's use of synthetic fibre has increased in recent years, this has mainly been in the manufacture of specialist brushes, such as those used in food production or catering establishments, and in hospitals.

Automatic brush making machines were first introduced in the 1930s, and since then the most up-to-date machinery has been installed. The company's machines are now computer controlled and there is a policy of continually updating its machinery. In recent years very sophisticated production equipment has been installed to manufacture various types of brushes that were not previously made. The company now produces over three million brushes annually and owns over 200 injections moulds. These moulds are for producing other cleaning related products such as squeegees, shovels, buckets, lobby pans, signs, scoops, scrapers, paddles and many more items.

Our engineering workshop repairs machinery, and also builds some specialist machines.

The woodturning department was started in 1950, and now mainly manufactures specialist brush backs and products. Most of the wooden brush backs are now imported from the Far East and Eastern Europe.

The company is registered with the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) who ensure that timber felled and supplied from FSC accredited forests is replanted so that these forests are conserved for future generations to enjoy. Hill Brush has an FSC chain of custody accreditation (TT/COC/1562) and is able to supply FSC timber products and brushes to order.

Hill Brush originally specialised in making wooden backed brushes, and although it is still one of the largest manufacturers of wooden brushes, a very large range of plastic backed brushes for the food industry are also produced, mainly from the company's own moulds. Leather backed brushes have also been developed for the equestrian market! Hill Brush also manufacture brushes for customers using plastic mouldings provided by those customers.

In 1952 the company was honoured by a visit from Her Majesty the Queen. This was the second Royal visit, the Prince of Wales having visited the factory in 1932. The company has been a Royal Warrant Holder since 1981.

In 2001 the company purchased Champion Brush Inc. in Baltimore MD, USA, the foremost manufacturer of horse grooming brushes in North America. This is now incorporated with Hill Brush Inc. which is run by family member Peter Coward. Hill Brush Inc. distributes UK manufactured Food Service brushes and Equestrian brushes, as well as manufacturing its own Equestrian brushes.

The company was one the first in the industry to have its own website, and the second generation Hill Brush website was launched in 2003, and in 2008 the third generation website was planned which enables customers to purchase products on-line.

In 2003 Hill Brush acquired the business of Herrewege Brushes of Stockton-on-Tees, who were one of the company's major competitors for wooden industrial brushes. The business brought with it a large number of new products to the Hill Brush range. The Herrewege business was relocated from Stockton to the Hill Brush site in Mere.

In 2005 the company acquired the businesses of Yorke Brushes of Stoke on Trent, a manufacturer and supplier of wooden brushes and brooms, and ZU, a local company selling wooden seafood accessory products.

In 2006 a new software system for all applications in the company was introduced, giving the company real time stock control, and making the company more efficient.

In 2008 the company purchased the machinery, stock and customer list of the Dutch fibre dressing company J H Velthoven en Zoon, this has expanded the company’s sales of dressed brush fibres to many parts of the world.

The company has been a member of the British Brush Manufacturers' Association for many years and David Coward was President of the Association from 1976-1978. Richard Coward was a member of the Industrial Relations Committee for many years, and for four years headed the Employer's Negotiating Committee. Philip Coward was President of the British Brush Manufacturers' Association (B.B.M.A.) from 1992-1994, and has been a member of the Association's Industrial Relations Committee. He was also President of the European Brush Manufacturers' Association (F.E.I.B.P.) from 1996 until 1999 and again in 2001. The company is also a member of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association, the British Wood Turner's Association, and the International Sanitary Supply Association.

Almost three thousand different products are now produced, and these are supplied to over 50 countries worldwide.

The company is committed to a policy, which is sympathetic to environmental issues, and strives to minimise the environmental impact at all stages of production and where possible uses environmentally harmonious components. For instance all of the natural vegetable fibres used by the company are harvested, and the gathering and processing of these fibres helps to support many local communities in third world countries. See our environmental policy for further information.