175 years of sound british engineering

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In 2012 Christy Turner celebrated 175 years of

supplying high quality, robust and reliable aking

mills, hammer mills, pulverisers and associated

plant equipment for industries around the world that

process food for humans, feed for humans animals,

biomass, waste recycling, minerals, chemicals and

pharmaceuticals.

By combining years of experience with innovative

ideas, the latest design tools, top quality materials

and sound engineering, Christy Turner still manufacture their

machines on the very same site in Ipswich; where the E R & F

Turner brand was established back in 1837.Created by the merging of E R & F Turner, Christy & Norris

and Miracle Mills, Christy Turner Ltd boasts an international

reputation for producing high quality British engineering as well

as innovation in the milling industry.

This reputation has been forged by the company’s apparent

willingness to combine generations of manufacturing skills and

expertise with modern technological advances. In doing so,

Christy Turner have continued to produce the machines of choice

for manufacturers around the globe. For example, over 90 percent

of the machines used by UK cereal giant Weetabix at Burton,

Latimer & Corby sites are Christy Turner’s E R & F Turner

Flaking Mills.

Generations old reputation for robust, durable

machines

What are the reasons behind Christy Turner’s longevity? It

could their reputation for robust, durable machines and spares

and servicing, coupled with their innovative and dynamic

approach to the ever-changing milling.

Managing Director Chris Jones believes that the company’s

focus on innovation has been the key ingredient in Christy Turner

maintaining their position as a market leader. “We are constantly

working to improve the machinery we supply and the parts that

go with them across all our machines; whether that is looking for

the highest possible grade materials to make the toughest possible

hammer parts or using modern technology to produce machines”

that come equipped with “intuitive control panels for ease of use,

helping overcome language barriers.”Chris Jones also believes that it is vital that Christy Turner

embrace any new materials or technology when they become

available so that they are able to quickly deliver these benets to

our customers.

“To determine the optimum milling solution we have access to

175 years ofsound British

engineeringby Lyndsey Filby, Christy Turner, UK

46 | February 2016 - Milling and Grain

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test records and reports from the 1940s to the present day. When

combined with the latest advances in technology and materials, it

is not surprising that our machines remain market leaders.”

Jones believes that Christy Turner have “worked hard to gain

an excellent reputation for supplying countries around the world

with durable, versatile equipment of the highest standard and we

are committed to maintaining this position.”

Currently wholly owned by the Gosling family, Christy Turner’s

trio of leading engineering brands have each helped shape the

UK’s milling landscape and played an important role in the

country’s esteemed milling history.

Establishing the E R & F Turner brand

Although E R & F Turner are currently most famous for their

T: +1 270-631-1303 E: [email protected]

BUCKET ELEVATOR SUPPORT TOWERS / CATWALK SUPPORT

TOWERS / GOAL POST TOWERS / SUPER STRUCTURES /

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A PITTSBURG TANK &

TOWER GROUP CO.

www.allstatetower.comFAMILY OWNED SINCE 1919

Milling and Grain - February 2016 | 47

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600, 550 and 460 model aking mills that are all designed for

aking breakfast cereals and are also widely used across the

animal feed industry. However, the longest-established of Christy

Turner’s core brands was established back when brothers Edward

Rush and Frederick Turner began making steam engines from St

Peter’s Works in Ipswich.

The company pioneered machine engine design and in 1851

exhibited its own portable steam engine design to more than six

million visitors at the famous Great Exhibition, held at Crystal

Palace. The exhibition put Turner’s on the world stage and helped

them attract a world-wide reputation as esteemed engine builders

and boiler makers. The portable steam engine of 4-horse power

was cutting edge technology. Subsequent successes included the

introduction of its traction engine in 1865.

Throughout the 19th Century, Turners were gainfully employed

manufacturing agricultural machinery, steam engines and boilers,

with their main customers being our millers and animal feed

processors. The development of the steam engine allowed for

increased innovation and greater efciency into many forms of

agriculture and early food processing. Up to that time milling had

been carried out using either wind or water power. However, thesteam engine was now able to power the operation of a number

of different machines to be used continuously without relying

on wind or water. Even back then, ER & F Turner was at the

forefront of the new technology.

The Introduction of Roller Mills and the Demise of

Stone

Then in 1846, Mr Turner entered into a contract to t up a

complete steam driven our millstone system for the eminent

miller Mr Joseph Fison of Ipswich. Sixteen years later, in 1862,

they manufactured from the designs of Mr G A Buckholz, a

Prussian Engineer, another milling plant for Mr Fison which

included roller mills, which is believed to be the rst of its

kind in England. This system enabled the bran and germ to be

separated from the our to meet the increasing demand for whiter

and lighter ours.

During this period, two major changes were taking place,

roller mills were replacing mill stones and electric motors

were replacing steam engines. The demand for our milling

development was also being stimulated by imported ours from

Hungary that were said to be of a much such superior quality. The

Hungarians were producing superior our using horizontal rolling

mills that could produce ner more consistent our.

To fully understand the pioneering system, a milling expert

named Mr J Harrison Carter and Pierson Turner travelled to

Hungary to investigate these mills. Upon their return ER & F

Turner conceived a new range of milling machinery. By 1888 ER

& F Turner were designing and producing their own roller mills -mills that could crush seeds and beans for their oil, and maize, to

create cornakes and other breakfast cereal.

Turners: equipping millers across the globe

For the 20 years that followed, a considerable number of mills

were equipped with Turner’s products, including engines and

boilers, transmission gears and drive shafts. In 1908 Turners

decided to discontinue the manufacture of steam engines and

boilers to make way for the growing demands of its milling

business. The success at this time necessitated the acquisition of

further premises which became known as Greyfriars Works. In

addition to our milling machinery the rm manufactured and

erected the rst complete maize aking plant for animal feed in

the UK.

The outbreak of war in 1914 saw an immediate response

from the company. Arthur Leggett (then works manager, later

to become managing director and in 1932 owner) conceived

the idea of a single purpose lathe for the accurate production

of shell bodies. These were so successful that some 2,000

similar machines were produced for plants in all parts of the

country.

Following the end of the war, demand for manufactured

products and agricultural machinery collapsed and all UK

engineering companies went through very tough times. The

manufacturing of military hardware had kept their factories

during the war years, then suddenly came to an end. The

large export markets which had sustained these companies

before the war had now either been lost or were greatly

diminished.

A number of leading companies in the region were struggling

and following discussions, in June 1919, formed Agricultural

& General Engineers Ltd (AGE) working on a ‘together we

are stronger’ premise. AGE combined 14 companies, including

E R & F Turner, and took over the entire share capital of the

companies. Others included Barford and Perkins of Peterborough,

E H Bentall of Maldon, Peter Brotherhood of Peterborough, Bull

Motors of Stowmarket, Davey Paxman of Colchester and RichardGarrett of Leiston.

In 1921, an advertisement in The Miller Magazine listed the

company’s products as our milling machinery, maize milling

and aking machinery, wheat and maize cleaning machinery,

grinding mills and chilled iron rolls.

An original E R & F Turner Flaking Mill

E R & F Turner 600 Breakfast Cereal with integral conveyor


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ER & F Turner relocate to Foxhall Road site, Ipswich.

In 1922, ER & F Turner purchased a nine acre site on Foxhall

Road in Ipswich that had previously been occupied by Valley

Brickworks. It was to here that they began the lengthy process of

moving the works from their town centre site in College Street to

the new premises. The original St Peter’s Work’s site included

the famous Wolsey’s Gate, and on vacating the premises, the rm

presented the Gate to the town of Ipswich.

By 1932 AGE was suffering from a desperate shortage of

liquidity and a receiver was appointed. Each constituent company

was then sold off separately by the receiver and in most cases

back to the original owner. The rm underwent a reorganisation

under the Chairmanship of Mr Arthur Leggett and E R & F

Turner became independent once again, while also acquiring Bull

Motors Ltd.

The new premises offered the opportunity to re-plan production

on the most up-to-date lines and to consolidate the rm’s electric

motor production and milling machinery production onto one site

and in 1937 they opened the new factory in Foxhall Road.

It was around this time that the landscape of breakfast cereal

market was undergoing a transformation. In addition to the

traditional porridge oats, other products were now being

introduced to the UK. In 1937 Turners supplied its rst akingmills to Weetabix Ltd, which laid the foundations of a signicant

working relationship with the breakfast giants; which it continues

today.

E R & F Turner through World War II

The outbreak of the Second World War found E R & F Turner

well prepared to meet the heavy demands that were to be made

for its products to contribute to the armaments programme.

As well as making their turning lathes for shells, a quarter of a

million electric motors were manufactured by the rm during the

war years. They included motors for radar equipment, bomber

ap operating gear, electrical transmitters and generating sets.On the milling side, Turner’s long experience of seed cleaning

plant was also being put to good use during the war years,

enabling the country to produce products it once relied on imports

for, including the separating, cleaning and drying of ax. Another

application of the company’s experience in this eld was the

manufacture and installation of large numbers of drying, cleaning

and storage plants for grain. With the introduction of combine

harvesting this equipment became essential to the UK’s home

food production.

A view of St Peter’s works in Ipswich


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E R & F Turner and Post War Austerity

Following the Second World War, E R & F Turner invested in

improving their milling products by introducing a new totally

enclosed our roller mill and a completely new aking mill with

improved bearing design and lubrication.

The 1960’s once again sparked turbulent times for the business

and saw considerable changes in ownership and management.

The Leggett family that had owned and run the company since

1932, rst under the stewardship of Mr Arthur Leggett and then

his two sons Alan and Percy, decided to retire. As a result the

business was sold in 1966 to an investment company, Forgeway

Finance, at a time when corporate asset stripping was par for the

course. Forgeway liquidated a lot of the property and E R & F

Turner again was set on a new course.

On May 1, 1969 the company of E R & F Turner Ltd

(incorporating J Harrison Carter), complete with all the drawings,

patterns, spare parts and work in progress, was purchased by

precision engineers W G Gosling & Sons Ltd; an Ipswich

company founded by Walter George Gosling in 1925 and run at

that time by his grandsons. The company selling electric motors

remained at the Foxhall Road site and became Bull Motors Ltd.

The business of E R & T Turner Ltd was relocated to Knightsdale

Road, Ipswich, where it stands today. Also included in the salewas the associate company of J. Harrison Carter Limited, which

manufactured a wide range of crushing and grinding equipment.

During 1970s the rst aking mill made by the new owners was

sold to a South African company. Since then larger and more

sophisticated mills have been designed, leading to hundreds of

aking mills being manufactured and shipped all over the world.

Adapting throughout the 20th Century and the Birth of

the 550 Diameter Flaking Mill

In the 1980’s, a project led by Simon Foods Ltd to make

cornakes using extruders instead of the traditional process,

resulted in the design of a 550 diameter aking mill. As a result,

a lot of machines were then sold to parts of the world where

cornakes had not previously been traditionally eaten.

The 1990’s saw computerisation introduced to the aking

mill and a brand new 600mm diameter roller mill was designed

incorporating computerised gap control and many other

innovative features. This gave a larger roll diameter and higher

capacity than the existing 550 mill. Development of this mill

continues today with the introduction of intuitive touch screen

controls. Christy Turner also launched a simplied version of its

E R & F Turner 600 Flaking Mill specically re-engineered for

the animal feed market at Victam earlier this year (2015).

The J. Harrison Carter products acquired with E R & F Turner

Ltd back in 1969 had resulted in the manufacture of numerous

crushing & grinding machines. In January 1986 a London rm,

Miracle Mills Ltd of Penge, producing similar machines to the

Harrison Carter range, came up for sale and was quickly snapped

up by E R & F Turner Ltd. Its relocation to Ipswich enabled the

company to combine the skills and engineering expertise of its

staff, which led to the development of a new and improved range

of hammer mills under the Miracle Mills brand.

Miracle Mills currently produces a range of heavy duty swing

top hammer mills primarily designed for feed milling but also

widely used for grinding waste wood products and more abrasive

applications, ideal for reducing products such as waste wood for

animal bedding and biomass. The Miracle Mill 300 Series is arange of heavy duty mills with a hardened top section especially

suited to particle size reduction of abrasive materials.

The Christy & Norris Brand: Going Strong Since 1858

And last, but by no means least, Christy Turner’s Christy &

Norris brand has an equally rich heritage going back to 1858. A

leading competitor in the size reduction industry, Christy Hunt

(Agricultural) Ltd of Scunthorpe (formally Christy & Norris of

Chelmsford) became available in May of 2002 and was bought

and relocated to Ipswich at the end of that year, joining an

impressive line up of leading UK engineering brands.

Fell Christy, the youngest son of a Chelmsford Quaker family,

was apprenticed in1853 to Whitmore and Bunyon, renowned

millwrights and agricultural engineers based in Wickham

Market. With this experience he set up in partnership with his

father in 1858, and they established works in Broomeld Road,

Chelmsford. In the 1860s Fell Christy, working as an engineer

and millwright, travelled widely throughout Britain to service

wind and water-mills - gaining a reputation for meticulous care

and attention to detail.

The beater type disintegrator is introduced.

In 1872 Fell Christy introduced to the UK the manufacture of

the beater type disintegrator, a machine pioneered in the USA. It

reduced dry material to powder with great efciency, and found

extensive use in agriculture, milling, food manufacture and other

industries.

In 1880 with business expanding rapidly, Mr J A Norris wasrecruited from another Chelmsford rm, and ve years later he

was taken into partnership to form the rm Christy & Norris.

Christy’s son William was taken on in 1897 to concentrate on

maintaining the company’s ne reputation as millwrights and

mill engineers.

The following century saw the company develop its range of

hammer mills and pulverizers and expand into complete animal

feed plants which they installed around the world. Christy Norris


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earned the enviable reputation of being able to build a complete

feed mill installation from the ground up.

The company’s diversication continued still further in

the 1980s, when Christy’s acquired the businesses of Beken

Engineering and Sturtevant Engineering Ltd. Shortly after the

company became one of the UK’s most renowned manufacturers

of size reduction machinery, producing a full range of the original

Christy & Norris pulverizers and hammer mills, Beken mixers

and Sturtevant crushers.

The Acquisition of the Hunt and Co. Works

In 1985 Christy & Norris Ltd acquired the company of R Hunt

& Co, and moved from its Chelmsford factory to the R Hunt

& Co works in Earls Colne, creating the combined company of

Christy Hunt Ltd. This union did not prove successful and the

attraction of the large Earls Colne Works for housing proved too

great and in 1988 the works was closed and the Christy & Norris

and R Hunt & Co product ranges were sold to Bentall Simplex, a

Scunthorpe company.

In May 2002 Christy Hunt Agricultural Ltd, whose foundations

were laid in Essex, was brought back to East Anglia by the

Goslings.

Under the Christy Turner umbrella, and reverting to its original

brand name, Christy & Norris currently offers a range of highspeed dual rotation swing beater hammer mills with direct drive,

including the X380, X660 and X960, ideal for grinding cereals

for livestock feed, pet food and aquatic feed; size reduction of

wood waste for animal bedding or pelleting and size reduction of

biomass materials for power generation. It also produces a range

of heavy duty pulverizers used for limestone, plasterboard and

general recycling.

Over the years thousands of X15 and X26 hammer mills have

been made and the industry is very familiar with these models,

many still in service today and forming the basis of design for

many modern hammer mills, including the current Christy &

Norris X mill series. Christy Turner continue to provide supply

parts and servicing for all Christy Norris machines, including the

Sturtevant Crushers & Beken Mixers.

Christy Turner’s World Famous Spares and Service

Department

As well as supplying new and reconditioned machines, Christy

Turner also has a spares and service department, delivering

everything from machine maintenance advice, on-site servicing,

roll regrinding and replacement rolls to wear parts such as

beaters, screens, rotor parts, scraper blades, bearings and bearing

housings.

Businesses looking for high quality aking equipment for

breakfast cereal and animal feed production, hammer mills with

a reputation for reliability and longevity or excellent spares

and servicing can comfortably place their trust in a trio of Great

British brands with a rich heritage of the nest UK engineering.In addition to the machines at Weetabix’s Burton Latimer &

Corby sites, E R & F Turner Flaking Mills, are also installed at

Weetabix sites in Kenya, South Africa & Canada. Over 650 E R

& F Turner Flaking Mills are operational across the globe with

mills installed across sites in the UK, Europe, Australia/New

Zealand, South America, Middle East, Kenya, South Africa and

Canada.

Structural simplication and the appointment of Chris

Jones Becomes Managing Director

In 2004, an effort was made to simplify the company

administration. E R & F Turner, Christy Hunt and Miracle Millswere combined by the Goslings into one trading company called

Christy Turner Ltd. However, the consolidation process did lead

to some confusion for customers; with some thinking the historic

brands no longer existed.

This year Christy Turner embarked on an important rebrand

across its business to reclaim its rich heritage and ensure E R

& F Turner, Christy & Norris and Miracle Mills continue to

benet from their own hard-earned reputations, while trading

under the Christy Turner umbrella. A new and updated web site

allows customers to view all the products now available across

its extensive range which is a veritable one-stop shop for most

milling needs.

In January 2013, Chris Jones became Managing Director of

Christy Turner Ltd, he was also joined by Mags Humphrey as

Finance Director. The company remains wholly owned by the

Gosling family with Ron Gosling as Chairman. Bringing business

experience from outside the industry the new appointments were

made to introduce fresh new leadership and re-invigorate product

development to continue the work and safeguard the legacy of

those early innovators who started the Christy Turner journey

almost 200 years ago.

What Does the Future Have in Store For Christy

Turner

While continuing to provide support for its legacy equipment,Christy Turner is also committed to furthering the evolution of

its range of machines and maintain an ambitious development

program to ensure its machines remain market leaders in their

eld. With the consolidation process rmly established the last

10 years has seen the company go from strength to strength.


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175 years of sound british engineering

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