Ingram’s History

The Company's founder William Edward Ingram (Bill as he was always known) in the 1950’s would combine using his van for his part time business as a carton merchant with carrying out local moves and deliveries for friends and neighbours. All this was in addition to his main job which was working for The Alligator Leather Factory in St Helen Auckland on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland. Bill would work 7 days a week, he was never happier than when he was working.

Bill was proud to be the first owner in Bishop Auckland of a Ford Transit van in 1966, the first year of their production. By 1968 Bill’s eldest son Ian was running his own waste paper recycling company as well as assisting his father in his carton business. Unfortunately the recycling business was in its infancy in the 60's and was not the multi million pound industry it is today; however the carton business was steadily growing with Bill making more and more sale contacts with local textile and plastic companies in County Durham and Teesside.

The 70s

Ian wanted a new challenge and won a contract with the Post Office delivering parcels. Further canvassing led Ian to win a contract with a local veterinary drugs company (Turner Staines Laboratories) who were supplying veterinary drugs to wholesalers in the South East of England, Ian would travel to London back and forth three times a week quite often working through the night. By 1972 Ian was employing two staff, in this period the company was named Ingram’s Express Deliveries, which basically described what Ingram’s were doing during that period.

Although Ian’s younger brother Malcolm was assisting part time he did not officially join the company until April 1973 as a wages clerk come porter. From 1972 to 1975 Ingram’s continued with their express delivery service and royal mail contracts. By 1975 Ingram’s were quickly expanding their fleet purchasing first Ford wagons then coach built Bedford wagons to use in their steadily growing retail furniture delivery service, haulage and domestic removal business. That same year Ingram’s changed their name to Ingram’s Removers and Storers.

In the early years Ingram’s had several different bases in South West Durham until 1976 when they moved into their present warehouse and offices at Percy /  Morland Street in Bishop Auckland.  In the 1970’s and 80’s Ingram’s were running a removal business and haulage business along parallel lines, however it was becoming apparent that the removal and storage business was more lucrative than the haulage business. Slowly but surely in the early to mid 80’s the haulage side of the business was wound down and fazed out, never to return.

By 1979 Ingram’s had become members of the prestigious British Association of Removers, competing for work and contracts on an equal footing with the well established firms and multi national companies in the area.

The 80s

Ingram’s were hit side ways with a tragedy in March 1980 when a member of their HGV staff Norman Walton was killed in an unprovoked attack. The story was extensively covered by the media with nightly coverage of the story on both BBC and ITV Tyne Tees. His assailant, a hitch hiker Norman had picked up on his return from a delivery in the West Midlands, was arrested on the Isle of Wight, brought to justice and consequently received a 12 year jail sentence. Norman was just 34 years old.

In 1982 after the Falklands conflict Ingram’s won contracts with the British Army to store army personnel’s furniture and effects for three years while the government deployed regiments to strengthen army garrisons in places as far afield as Germany, Belize, and Gibraltar.

The revenue from these contracts contributed to Ingram’s embarking on a major project to have fully functional container stores complete with container wagons and fork-lift truck by the spring of 1985. The process was so quick and efficient it caught out the local manager of a multi-national removal company, who insisted to a potential customer Ingram’s were not containerised. Consequently, and not surprisingly, this individual turned down the offer of a guided tour of Ingram’s storage depository.

The next decade from 1985 to 1995 saw a steady increase in Ingram’s commercial moving services.

The 90s

The significant shift from Domestic removal work to commercial moving was particularly welcome due to the housing recession which reached a peak in 1992.

William Edward Ingram (Bill) the founder of the business passed away in 1995; Bill was always a friendly face around the office and warehouse and even at the age of 79 was still pursuing his entrepreneurial skills.

Vehicle presentation has always been important to Ingram’s, by the early 90’s Ingram’s had switched their wagon fleet from Fords and the defunct Bedfords to the superior Mercedes Benz. Their fitting department was wound up in this period and servicing and repairs switched to Bell Trucks, the Mercedes main dealer in the area. This partnership still exists to this present day.

The New Century

The year 2000 saw Ingram’s venture into Documentation Storage; this business has steadily grown over several years with both the public sector and private sector storing their document archives with Ingram’s.  The company’s domestic containerised storage service continues to provide a steady income.

In 2002 Ingram’s joined the prestigious Commercial Moving Group, an extended arm of the British Association of Removers. In 2004 Ingram’s were awarded BS 12522 accreditation for services to the domestic removal industry.

Although Ingram’s premises have been burglar alarmed for many years a review in 2008 led to CCTV being fitted for extra security. In this same period 20 ft metal self sealed containers in their own secure compound 3 miles away from Ingram’s main depot were introduced to cope with Ingram’s customer demand for commercial storage.

A successful business does not run without efficient, conscientious and motivated staff and Ingram’s are no exception to this rule. I’m sure Ingram’s staff would agree this story could not be concluded without mentioning Steve Santon who has been with the company through thick and thin (apart from a brief entrepreneurial pub landlord period) since 1979. His “friendly” daily banter exchanges over the years with Ian have become legendary.

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Page last updated on October 16, 2008 .