Parker Hannifin UK

The UK arm of an American motion-and-control company, supplying hydraulic, pneumatic and filtration products from sites including Hellaby in Yorkshire, Barnstaple and Warwick.

About Parker Hannifin UK

Parker Hannifin describes its field as motion and control technologies. Its UK business supplies the parts that move and control machinery: hydraulic and pneumatic components, fittings and hoses, filtration, seals and related systems. A directory entry for Parker Hannifin Manufacturing Limited says the firm has operated in the UK for 47 years, supplying British manufacturers and other businesses through a distribution network and technology centres. The group's retail-style ParkerStore outlets, run with local partners, sell motion and control products and give technical advice, and a Leicester store was reported in a trade news item.

Arthur L. Parker founded the group in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917 as the Parker Appliance Company, first making air brake systems for buses, trucks and trains. It bought Hannifin in 1957 and took the name Parker Hannifin. Helen Parker took charge after her husband died in 1945. Wikipedia describes no formal mission statement. In 2022 Parker completed its purchase of the British aerospace and defence company Meggitt, which now trades as Parker Meggitt, and Parker made commitments on UK research and development spending as part of the approval. Aerospace is a separate sector for this site, so we cover only the industrial business here.

Grace's Guide records that Parker was established in the UK in about 1969 with sites including Watford and Barnstaple. An undated trade report said cylinder production in Watford was being planned to end after more than 40 years, with 32 of 50 jobs affected, and that work would move to Hellaby, Yorkshire, with up to 18 new jobs; the head office and business development functions were to stay in Watford. The same report said pneumatic production at Cannock was also ending. Parker bought Sterling Hydraulics of Crewkerne, Somerset, in 2005, a company with nearly 300 staff then which made custom hydraulic cartridge valves. The directory lists a Warwick-based entry for the UK company, and a Grantham address appears on one listing.

We found little on culture. The reports of site closures and moves are a reminder that big manufacturers rebalance their sites over time. Wikipedia reports about 61,000 employees worldwide, and the company has been a long-established industrial name. We found no UK headcount, no UK staff stories and no first-party UK page, so we have not described what working there feels like.

A company of this kind employs design and applications engineers who help customers choose and fit components, production and machine operators, quality and test engineers, maintenance technicians, sales engineers, technical support staff and logistics planners. Mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, materials science and business studies all lead in. Many hydraulic and pneumatic jobs involve seeing parts you helped to make working inside diggers, factory machines and food equipment.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Valves, pumps, cylinders and fittings that move and control machinery.', 'title': 'Hydraulics and pneumatics'}
• {'desc': 'Filters and seals for industrial equipment and vehicles.', 'title': 'Filtration and sealing'}
• {'desc': 'Technology centres and ParkerStore outlets run with local partners.', 'title': 'Distribution and technical support'}

Key facts

• Established in the UK around 1969 (Grace's Guide); directory says 47 years in the UK
• Watford and Barnstaple sites; Hellaby in Yorkshire named as a UK plant
• Bought Sterling Hydraulics of Crewkerne, Somerset, in 2005 (nearly 300 employees at the time)
• Completed purchase of British company Meggitt in 2022, now Parker Meggitt (separate Aerospace sector)

Website: www.parker.com/gb