Rutland: From D-Day steel designer to global door closer manufacturer

Our history spans back to 1930 with an engineer named JC Hughes. He started a business designing steel reinforcing for concrete structures at coal washing plants and collieries.

During World War II, the business was loaned to the Army division of Highly Skilled Engineers to help in the war effort. They designed the steel reinforcing that went into the floating concrete harbour sections that were towed across the English Channel to aid in the D-Day operation. (More information about our heritage, including our involvement in D-Day, can be found here).

That was 72 years ago.

Today, Rutland is a global door closer manufacturer. Our client base spans architects, architectural ironmongers, door manufacturers and builders’ merchants in Europe, America, Canada, the West Indies, India, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

The company now has its fourth generation of the Hughes family.

Our group head office in Chesterfield, UK is the nucleus of our global network. Many of our key services take place there, including

• Product development and research – every single one of our components is borne from extensive research and testing to optimise performance, durability and value
• Personalisation – some of our customers order a container of door closers or a minimum of 3,000 units. We print these in their own box, label and cover so that when the closers are fitted, they’re personalised to the client. Other customers buy our products in smaller quantities and opt for a print on the cover or a sticker, we attach these as we pack the items
• Product testing – we create and test products for every use and style of doorset at our in-house door closer testing facility before sending them to a UKAS-approved test house for certification
• Packaging – we hold eight times more stock than the average company, which means you get what you need picked, packaged and despatched quickly

Our HQ is also home to our technical back up and general sales support services. These teams help eliminate hassle in your supply chain by responding to all queries within two hours.

We’re committed to providing a helpful service and elegant engineering

All of our products are optimised for design, performance and reliability, with continual innovation to make them faster and easier to fit. For instance, you can save an average of 12.5 minutes per unit from unpacking a Rutland product to walking away (and that includes reading the instructions, fitting the unit, checking your door and adjusting the valves).

Our flexible service ensures our customers receive exactly what they need in line with their project requirements and timescales. Our technical specialists have the skills and expertise to advise from spec through to installation to provide the perfect door closer. They can also help you identify ways to streamline your projects.

Our passion for door closers makes for successful projects and efficient supply chains

From Buckingham Palace to the largest shopping centre in Europe, our products feature on millions of doors worldwide. In fact, a Rutland door closer is currently sold every 31.57 seconds.

While Rutland has evolved over the last eight decades from a steel reinforcing design business to a global operation, one thing remains for sure: our ability to deliver clever solutions to ordinary problems.

Want to know more about how we can help improve your projects? Call us on 01246 261491 or email sales@www.rutlanduk.co.uk to discuss your door closer requirements with us.