Reflecting on 111 years of Christie & Grey
October 2025 marked the 111th year of Christie & Grey, which is an amazing milestone…
Keep reading to discover the history of Christie & Grey, and the team behind it, as they share their memories from over the years.
The History of Christie & Grey
Our legacy dates back to January 1912, when a young qualified engineer called Robert Bertram Grey was appointed to manage two newly formed companies: The British Anti-Vibration & Noise Co Ltd and Typhoon Mixer Co. These companies were to specialise in vibration and noise control and the design and supply of mixing and agitating gear for the refinement etc of chemical products.
Mr Grey worked single-handed from an office in the City of London, where most of the business obtained was for the Typhoon Mixer Co. The company was used for the mixing and agitation of liquid chemicals, employing a specially designed blade mounted on the end of a vertical shaft driven at about 90 rpm through a bevel gear system from a motor or belt driven horizontal shaft.
In 1914, W Christie & Grey Ltd was set up. Gradually Mr Grey was able to obtain more business in the fields of vibration control – by what is now known as cold selling. Christie & Grey became the first company in the UK to embark on this business and the difficulties which must have been experienced in establishing interest in the company’s products can well be appreciated.
Our offices moved to Tonbridge in 1974, where for the first time in our history, we took direct control over the manufacture and assembly of our products.
The team behind Christie & Grey
Our Operations Manager, Graham, has worked with us for almost 37 years now. When asked what his earliest memory of life at Christie & Grey is, Graham said:
“One of my earliest memories of life at Christie & Grey was the time, one Friday afternoon in the early 1990’s after the workshop staff had finished for the week, I assisted with the unloading of a lorry delivering some massive helical steel springs. They were loaded loose onto the back of the vehicle as they had a wire diameter of around 2” and must have stood around 2 feet tall, quite a handful! They were destined for a project in Scotland for the Scottish Hydro-Electric company and were produced for us by a company called West Bromwich Springs. Unfortunately, neither of those companies exist today, but I am pleased to report that we are still going strong, 111 years and counting!”
Our Site Supervisor, Gary, shared with us a memory of the install job at the Light Cinema in Banbury:
“I remember the Light Cinema in Banbury install particularly well because it was an exciting big cinema, but also very challenging as it was in June/July of 2021, so we were still under Covid Social Distancing Restrictions. We were on the job for 3 weeks, installing our SRS Floating Floor System across all 8 screens of the cinema. We met some wonderful people, including fellow contractors, Health and Safety Officers and Site Managers who couldn’t have been more helpful. The job ended up being a huge success, completed on schedule and went very smoothly, due to everyone’s co-operation on this project.”
Our Sales Manager, Craig, shared with us his experience of visiting the International WorkBoat Show in 2022:
“In 2022, I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans and meet Matt for the first time, which was a great experience. At that time I had been working for C&G for about 18 months and knew we sold Anti-Vibration Products into the US Marine Market. What I didn’t know was how well respected we were that side of the pond. Talking to so many people who had used our products on projects for Vessels they had been involved with, even people who used them on their own Boats.
It highlighted to me the wonderful work Matt has done and the strong relationships he has built. We met so many amazing people and it was great to find out more about that side of the business and expand my Marine knowledge.”
And finally, a few words from our VP of North American Operations, Matt!
“Christie & Grey takes pride in being selected to engineer systems for these vessels. They expect high standards in noise and vibration isolation upon which their important work rely. It takes a great team, and we are blessed to be able to work with so many great partners from customers agents, naval architects, system integrators, equipment manufacturers and noise consultants to achieve this success. Thank you one and all for your trust.”
Learn more about our Engineering Legacy
To find out more about the engineering legacy of Christie & Grey click here, or for more information on our anti-vibration solutions reach out to our team today.
