Castle Group

Castle Group has been at the forefront of environmental measurement and monitoring technology for 50 years. Whether you need to learn how to measure something, find the right equipment, or need a detailed assessment, you've come to the right place.

early years

Castle was born in early 1971. Its parents were engineers and sales and marketing people. The initial company profile was to design, manufacture and sell electronic instruments, in addition to performing custom design work on a contract basis.

The contract to design and manufacture sound level indicators for the Open University was won at an early stage. This contract ultimately resulted in the supply of over 7000 meters, which together with approximately 20,000 meters of direct commercial sales, made the CS15C sound level meter the largest selling sound level measurement product ever. From the beginning, we designed a range of products and, in order to help Castle compete with large, established competitors with multi-product catalogs, acquired multiple agencies to gain access to multiple free products.

By 1978, Castle was well known and respected, and orders were growing. Unfortunately, market demand outpaced the original engineering partners' designs, and their order volumes declined before leading to the global recession of 1979

new beginning

In 1980, two senior employees successfully purchased the management. Take immediate steps to recruit capable and experienced design engineers and rebuild the company. This now results in a very avant-garde and dynamic company with great success in many areas of noise and vibration, offering many products and new services including consultancy, training and instrument rental.

The two directors responsible for this transition were Mr Peter Bull and Mr Peter Hudson, Director of Finance and Production. To maintain this momentum, they purchased a factory on an industrial site near Scarborough, where the added space allowed them to establish appropriate testing and calibration facilities, improve the shop, create larger production space and expand the business consultation, training and instrument rental.

Since the MBO, four phases of engineering development have been successfully planned; firstly, the product line was reworked, modernized and given improved graphics; secondly, a new body style was designed, It is now an important part of the product range; thirdly, microprocessor technology was introduced into a range of new products; fourthly, surface mount technology and multilayer printed circuit boards were introduced to enable complex instruments to be manufactured in pocket-sized enclosures.

new diversity

The early 1990s saw huge advances in the technology used in Castle instrumentation, with the introduction of many new products, including specialist vibration measurement equipment. There is also a move towards a more clearly defined product range covering different customer requirements and applications, making Castle a highly competitive and successful company.

In 1995, Castle acquired two other companies, a noise and vibration consulting and leasing company and a medical company that sold audiometers. The new company was renamed Castle Group Ltd , will handle a wider range of noise and vibration tasks.

2000 – 2007

In 2000, two new directors were appointed as a result of the significant and continued growth of the 1990s. These appointments are made to strengthen the board and bring dynamism at the corporate level and lead the company to greater success.

2008 to present

After the credit crisis of 2008 and the ensuing recession, Castle embarked on a path of restructuring and investing in new products and services, determined to return the company to growth.

Careful planning and building a new team has produced the desired results. The company's overall growth is now around 10% and Castle's exports grew by more than 120% in the year to June 2017, with similar growth expected this year. This success was recognized by Castle at the 2017 Scarborough Business Awards, where it received the Annual Export Achievement Award.