About Us
In 1940 Charles and Frank Purley owned a fresh fish shop, as obtaining ice was expensive; a cheap method of keeping the fish in good condition had to be found.
In 1942 together with partner Leslie Jull they purchased a small engineering workshop in Longford Road Bognor Regis and Longford Engineering Company (L.e.c) was born. Through the war years the workshop produced munitions as well as developing a refrigeration system.
In 1946 they obtained some land from Farmer Munday at Shripney Road Bognor Regis for £125. This was the base from which the factory grew. In the same year their first prototype fridge was made, and the company acquired its first airplane an Ulster, which was used for urgent deliveries and repairs. The plane was also used for transporting executives on business trips in order to save time.
By 1947 the factory at Shripney Road was in full production and about 200 workers were employed. During the 1940''s Lec concentrated on their foreign export market, due to the fact that steel was in short supply, and available only for the overseas trade. As a result of this 90% of all fridges Britain exported to Canada in 1948 were made by Lec, and at times 80% of all Lec fridges were for export.
In 1954 the company was renamed Lec Refrigeration Ltd, thus linking itself more closely to the trade name of Lec by which its products had become known.
Lec established its showroom in Regent Street in 1955, providing the opportunity to display its products, and a convenient venue to meet clients from abroad.
In 1956 the company''s special product division was formed and started to produce low temperature environment cabinets for hospitals, aircraft and atomic research.
Charles Purley said to keep a business successful you have to expand so in the 1960''s a new automatic spray paint plant, and a 3 floor building fronting Shripney Road were in construction.
In 1964 Lec was floated on the stock market successfully. In the same year Lec expanded to Burnley, Oldham and Northern Ireland. This indicated that the biggest factory in Bognor Regis had arrived on both a national and international stage.
In 1973 following Britain''s entry in the common market a modern factory was acquired in Calais.
In 1981 the company''s new 73,000 sq foot warehouse opened. In 1984 Lec undertook its first television advertisement which featured actress Barbara Kelly.
In 1986 Charles Purley Founder and Chairman of the board of Directors was presented with an OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
In October 1991 at the age of 81 Charles Purley gave up the Chairmanship of the board, he became life president but died in the December.
In 1994 Sime Darby of Malaysia purchased Lec and invested £34 million into a new factory.
In 1997 Lec expanded its Special product division and renamed it ''Technical products''. The company launched its new domestic range ''Era'', which was entirely designed and developed in Bognor.
In 2001 Lec launched ''Elan'' a range of CFC, HCFC and HFC free domestic refrigeration products.
December 2003 saw Lec officially close their old factory with a ceremony held for employees. Long service awards were given to those employees who had worked at the company for over 20 years.
Managing Director Raof Daud summed up the importance of the event when he said ''The factory has become part of Bognor''s history and its closure is a big, big occasion for Lec. It marks the culmination of our plans when we invested £35million in our new factory starting back in 1996''.
April 2004 saw Lec move into new modern offices which sit next to the state of art factory. Later in the year these offices were named ''New Era House'' setting the mood for the coming years.
March 2005 Lec is acquired by Glen Dimplex a major group with market leading brands that include Morphy Richards (small domestic appliances), Stoves, Belling and New World (cooking), Glen and Dimplex (heating), and Roberts Radios. Chief Executive, Sean O’Driscoll said, “We are pleased to have acquired Lec and plan to continue with the management’s strategy, to accelerate its growth and regain its leading position in the UK refrigeration market. We have a strong track record in acquiring and rebuilding businesses in the domestic appliance industry. We feel there are many synergies that Lec can gain from being part of our Group”.
May 2007 Lec Professional moves to Glen Dimplex Professional Appliances and is split into 2 brands; Lec Commercial (bottle coolers and catering refrigeration) and Lec Medical (pharmacy, ward, laboratory and ultra low temperature refrigeration).