Alvan Blanch Development Company Limited
Alvan Blanch is a British manufacturing and project engineering company with a global outlook, specialising in the design, production and supply of quality machines and integrated systems for the primary and secondary processing of agricultural produce and waste materials. We are proud of the reputation we have gained over more than 60 years for the quality of our innovative and reliable products and for the personal service that we give to all of our customers. An exceptionally wide product range encompasses some stages of mechanical processing for most of the world`s crops, varying in scale from individual machines to large-scale industrial projects. At Alvan Blanch, our commitment is to become the customer`s first choice for post-harvest processing equipment like grain driers, exported to 90 countries across the world.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Crop Cultivation
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
This company also provides solutions for other industrial applications.
Please, visit the following links for more info:
About us
Processing Solutions
ln-house manufacture of most of our products allows us to ensure that our products meet high standards of quality and finish, and yet are competitively priced in world terms. Our 9,000 sq. m factory utilises the latest production and management systems, including CNC laser cutting, punching, pressing and machining. A dedicated and skilled work force gives us the flexibility to react to the new demands, special requirements and urgent schedules of our customers.
This mission can only be accomplished through a combination of continuous service, open and honest communication, and the education of ourselves and our customers of the concepts and products that we provide.
Company History
The company's founder, the late, Alvan B. Blanch OBE, 1916 -1991, started his working life as a farmer and agricultural contractor. Through his prowess at sheep shearing he became head demonstrator R.A. Lister Co. (famous for diesel engines), which even involved him in a televised display of sheep shearing for a very early BBC farming programme in 1938.
His really notable skill however was as an engineer who, by applying a fresh and often very simple approach to problem solving, was able to substantially improve many of the farm machines that he encountered. Alvan’s inventive talents clearly needed a more challenging outlet and so it was that in 1946 he started his first business - A.B. Blanch Ltd. to design and manufacture new farm machinery.
Then, after selling the original business, he founded Alvan Blanch Development Co. Ltd in 1952. The 'development' part of the new company’s name made its purpose clear, innovation to meet the challenges of farming that was then undergoing rapid transformation. As is implied by the new company’s name, its objective from the very outset was to develop innovative engineering solutions to meet the needs of farmers and agro industrialists. The design ethos was that no machine should be more complicated than functionally necessary and that the machines, while being easy to repair should be built to last for a generation.
Sales took off rapidly and those early design concepts for grain driers and feed mixers have evolved into the equivalent machines of today. A new factory was built on farmland and barns were converted into offices. The on-site farm became the test bed for all new products.
The opportunity to assist in the mechanisation of agriculture elsewhere in the world was grasped with enthusiasm and an export team was established, with Alvan Blanch himself travelling worldwide. He quickly recognised that agricultural traditions, dictated by culture, climate and economic factors varied enormously. Machinery should be just as varied - to meet the actual requirements in a country or region. He set his design team some very diverse challenges, leading to the creation of a range of products of extraordinary strength in depth.
This was the foundation to the company’s success in international trade that was given official recognition in 1969 when Alvan Blanch was honoured with the award of the OBE by H M the Queen. He remained at the helm of the business right up until his death in 1991.
