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Clarke Chapman has been producing heavy engineering equipment in the northeast of England since 1864.

During the 1990’s, under the ownership of Rolls-Royce, Clarke Chapman incorporated the companies Wellman Booth, Stothert & Pitt and Cowans Sheldon to become Rolls-Royce Materials Handling.

In December 2000, the company was acquired by the current shareholder – family owned British engineering group,  Langley Holdings plc.

Today, Clarke Chapman primarily produces specialist lifting and handling equipment and provides support services for the nuclear, defence and railway sectors.

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Did you know...

Until 2000 Clarke Chapman was known as Rolls-Royce Materials Handling. The company was acquired by Langley Holdings that year.

Clarke Chapman Ltd incorporates the former Stothert & Pitt, Wellman Booth, Butterley Engineering, Cowans Sheldon, Mackley Pumps, Jenkins of Retford, Newell Dunford and Sir William Arrol companies.

Sir William Arrol was part of the consortium that built London’s famous opening Tower Bridge.

Clarke Chapman produced the transfer car system used to launch the latest Astute Class nuclear submarine, HMS Audacious

Clarke Chapman companies have installed 120+ nuclear handling cranes at Sellafield, the British nuclear site – the largest of its kind in Europe.

Sellafield is a 6 sq km (2 sq mile) site on the northwest coast of England which stores and treats nuclear waste from weapons programmes and nuclear power generation.

Butterley Engineering fabricated the steelwork for the Spinnaker Tower, a 170-meter landmark observation tower in Portsmouth, England. It is one of the tallest, accessible structures in the United Kingdom outside London.

Cowans Sheldon long rail delivery systems (LRDS) transport thousands of tonnes of rail in 200m lengths throughout the UK rail network.

Wellman Booth cranes are used to load and in load nuclear warheads on Britain’s submarine fleet.

Our Brands

Wellman Booth

For severe process crane technology in hostile and exacting environments, Wellman Booth is a leader in overhead travelling cranes. Our high integrity cranes are used in power stations, ports, fuel reprocessing plants, aluminium plants, steelworks and nuclear facilities.

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Butterley Engineering

Butterley Engineering played a significant role in the Industrial Revolution and was involved in various engineering and manufacturing activities.

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Cowans Sheldon

Cowans Sheldon, pioneers of state-of-the-art multi-tasking cranes and related rail equipment.

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Stothert and Pitt

Founded in 1785 by ironmonger George Stothert and recognised as an important industry pioneer, Stothert & Pitt now provides dockside and offshore crane technology services and support.

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Mackley Pumps

Founded in 1910 to design and manufacture positive displacement pumps for de-watering collieries, our reputation as an industry expert in fluid handling technology was quickly established, supplying quality engineered centrifugal pumps, to a diverse range of industry world-wide.

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JND Technologies

Jenkins of Retford (founded 1896) and Newell Dunford (founded 1892) are internationally recognised names in the field of rotary drying technologies and other processing equipment.

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At Clarke Chapman, sustainability is at the core of our strategy.

We understand the critical role that energy plays in our daily lives and its impact on the environment. We are committed to championing clean and responsible energy solutions that power a more sustainable future.

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What we do

The group comprises a number of divisions, all well-established names in their respective sectors. Our headquarters are in Gateshead in the North East of England, on a 3.6 hectare site, which also serves as a manufacturing, assembly and test facility for the group. In 2000 Clarke Chapman was acquired from Rolls-Royce Plc by Langley Holdings plc, a diverse, privately owned engineering group based in the UK with principal operating divisions in Norway, Germany, France, Italy and the UK and more than 80 subsidiaries worldwide.

About us

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Events

See us at..

Sept 2024

The 9th ENIC 2024 (Nuclear Congress)
Date: 16-18 September 2024
Location: Paris, France

Get in touch

Do you have questions or do you need advice regarding our products and services? Feel free to give us a call or to send us an email. We are looking forward to hearing from you and will come back to you as soon as possible.