1915-1939
Charles Winkless (co-founder) was born in 1915 in Birmingham. He attended the Handsworth Grammar School before working with his father, who managed a pen manufacturing company. Through his father Charles was able to obtain very good training in toolmaking, press-work and general engineering. Charles also gained experience in planning and estimating through his time at many different Birmingham manufacturers (inside and outside the pen trade). In this time he had amassed a considerable amount of engineering knowledge and experience.
1939-1945
During this time, Charles Winkless went back to toolmaking and assisted the war effort where he could. He found that he was completing a lot of tooling for his brother-in-law, David Ward, a Metal Spinner. Although a lot of the work the duo completed during this period was private and confidential. We do know that their first large contract was in 1944.
1946
Charles always intended to start his own business, but the war forced him to postpone his plans. After WWII, he revived his ambition and discussed starting a venture with his brother-in-law, David Ward. They believed that by combining Mr. Winkless’s expertise in Metal Pressing with Mr. Ward’s experience in Metal Spinning, they would form a winning combination. To reflect this, they merged their surnames and began trading as The Winward Company Limited.
1946-1947
The duo established their first work space in a wooden garage in Handsworth, Birmingham, where they produced their initial invention: a fuel economiser marketed as “Plus-A-Grate.” Comprising two flat cast iron plates designed to lock together and sit in a fireplace grate, it enabled coal, slack, or other combustible materials to burn more efficiently.
Although they both continued to work their regular jobs, evenings and weekends were devoted to manufacturing Plus-A-Grate using second-hand machinery, then selling it to retailers and in markets across Birmingham. While this modest venture did not yield substantial profits, it taught them valuable lessons in running a business - and more importantly, gave them the hunger to do something more ambitious.
1947-1948
Their opportunity came when they found an old bakery at Villa Road, Handsworth. With some modification, it could be turned into a factory of sorts.
The building had been laying idle since before the war. It was full of rubbish and still had the remains of an old coal fire furnace. On Sundays, with the use of a borrowed truck, the duo cleared many tons of rubbish, sand and brick.
With very little capital to call on, the two men scoured scrap yards for shafting and lathes, restored them back to working order and installed them into the old bakery. Only then could they begin work as they had planned -
as Metal Spinners.
1948-1949
For the first year in the new Villa Road premise, the duo concentrated on spinning pots and pans for the aluminium cookware trade. This went quite well. But it did not justify the amount of work and expertise that Mr. Winkless and Mr. Ward was putting into the business.
While continuing to manufacture aluminium pots and pans - Winward extended their manufacturing capabilities to producing larger spinnings, pressings and prototype work for the general engineering trade.
1949-1950
It was the next year that the firm began to show some real signs of growth. The removal of the ovens (from the old bakery) provided the extra room for expansion. After that it was a matter of extending the works by building on the space around and installing new machinery.
As the engineering side of the work began to grow, the manufacture of aluminium pots and pans for the cookware trade, was gradually discontinued and other types of metal spinning work taken on instead.
Inquiries began to come in for larger spinnings, and the company was swift to satisfy this demand by installing larger spinning lathes to increase its capacity.
1950-1952
It was approximately five years after the Villa Road works has been founded that the two men decided to take a fresh look at their prospering company and decide where they were going. This was a relatively easy decision as one specific market had caught their attention...
The duo found that they were receiving many inquiries about the manufacture of brass and copper-ware.
1952
The years of austerity during the war were still far from being a memory and people were only too anxious to cheer up their lives with bright, decorative articles, now that they were available. Many had given their treasured metal items towards the insatiable hunger of munition and aircraft factories.
Their minds where set when the duo found out that they could produce brass and copper articles to a strict engineering specification, using more modern and rapid methods than the current competitors on the market.
With growing demand and plenty of current customers to call upon, it was relatively easy to decide which products to manufacture first. Customer suggestions guided them in designing a range of items that appealed to manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers.
So began the introduction of a special department at the works for making ornamental copper jugs, vases and a range of miniature decorative items out of copper and brass.
1952-1955
The venture was an instantaneous success. Soon expansion would be a pressing problem for the duo. By this time there was no further room at the old bakery site on which to expand. The workshop had taken up the available 7000 sq ft.
A second site with 3000 sq. ft. at Handsworth New Road, was identified as the ideal plot to expand the works into. Negotiations had been completed when the company was dealt with an unexpected blow...
1955
In 1955, David Ward, Co-founder to The Winward Company Limited, unexpectedly passed away. His loss was deeply felt by everyone who knew him, especially Charles Winkless. He had lost his brother-in-law, someone he had shared many years building the company with him.
Mr. Ward's death brought serious challenges for Mr. Winkless. Could the company continue expanding without Mr. Ward’s unique expertise in Metal Spinning?
Thankfully, David Ward had planned ahead. He had ensured a chain of succession by training key operatives in his metal spinning methods and techniques. They absorbed a great deal of Mr. Wards know-how and would later play a key role in the future expansion of The Winward Company Limited.
1955-1960
The decision was made to go ahead with the development of the Handsworth New Road premises, with continued activities at Villa Road.
The Handsworth New Road premises (previously an oil storage depot) was developed to accommodate the spinning machinery from the old bakery on Villa Road, this allowed for greater production improvements in the old bakery. Despite utilizing 10,000 sq. ft. of space, the rapid progress of the company meant that the new space provided only a brief respite.
1962
Due to the continued success of Winward's brass and copper-ware range, in 1962, the company was again looking for extra-space to warehouse and assemble the brass and copper articles. They found this on Wattville Road, Handsworth.
Covering 4,000 sq. ft. these premises were dilapidated and needed considerable reconstruction.
1962-1967
With operations spread across three locations, The Winward Company Limited was ready to build on the recent growth that it has seen.
Upgraded machinery and more staff allowed the company to expand the brass and copper-ware range, improve quality, and streamline delivery.
Domestic sales grew steadily, and exports reached wider markets.
For five years the premises remained more or less satisfactory. However, operating from multiple small premises was not a sustainable growth model. And so the hunt began for a space large enough to take all operations under one roof...
1967
Before seeking larger premises, the company decided to stay local to retain its skilled workforce. Replacing around 150 trained employees elsewhere would have been difficult, and the company valued its loyal staff.
They found the ideal location at Bryant Street, Winson Green, Birmingham (now a care home). The Albion Works, once a bedding factory, offered 80,000 sq. ft. of work space, storage, and offices on a two-acre site - providing more than enough room for all operations and for future growth.
Significant upgrades followed, including rewiring for higher electrical capacity and installing new heating and sprinkler systems.
1967-1968
The Wattville Road site was sold, while the Villa Road and Handsworth New Road locations were kept for storage and general use.
All machinery was relocated to the new factory and arranged for maximum efficiency. Careful pre-planning ensured a smooth work flow between all departments. For the first time, the company was able to use modern machinery and modern work-planning methods.
1968-1970
Large hand metal spinning lathes, often operated by four men, were used to manually spin material such as Titanium, Nimonic and Inconel up to 8ft in diameter. The finished products often included: Jet Aircraft Intakes, Large Fan Cowlings, Rotor Blade Holders for Gas Turbines and many other high precision applications.
The company celebrated their new space by installing their biggest metal spinning machine yet. The hydraulic machine was capable of spinning up to 11ft in diameter and metal up to 1/4" thickness.
A common problem for the company was the limitations of the circle cutting equipment available on the market. This is why to complement these huge machines, the company designed and built four circle cutters, capable of cutting 6ft in diameter in 1/4" material.
25 YEARS
1971
1972
The 1970s was a very busy time for The Winward Company. So much so, that during the early 1970s, we started a metal spinning school at the Albion Works.
Over 30 metal spinning lathes were organised in a classroom formation, with a lathe at the top of the room for the "Head Spinner". Here we ran a constant training program for apprentices of the metal spinning trade, providing a seemingly endless supply of well trained metal spinners.
During it's time - this program successfully produced well over 300 metal spinners for Winward and the British Metal Spinning Industry, helping to keep the skill alive for another generation.
1972-1979
By this point the workforce at the Albion Works exceeded 250 personnel, necessary for operating approximately 50 small manual metal spinning lathes, 8 large manual metal spinning lathes, 5 hydraulic lathes of different capacity, 30 fly-presses, 24 power presses with a capacity of up to 150 ton, some double-action for deep drawing, 18 polishers, an automatic and manual spraying / lacquering stations, a soldering and welding plant, a fully fitted precision tool-room, along with assembly lines, warehouses, a 20,000ft basement full of tooling, a metal spinning school and at one time even operated its own on-site fuel station for the companies delivery vehicles.
1979
BS 5750 was released. It was the first quality management system in the UK. The BS 5750 would later serve as the foundations for quality management systems across the globe, including ISO 9001:2015. The Winward Company Limited obtained the BS 5750 in 1979.
1979-1996
During this time, we expanded our production of household goods for UK manufacturers and even opened a factory-direct furniture store. A store exclusively involving our own product range of: beds, mirrors, fittings, clocks, bezels, and other decorative metal pieces. We opened a sister company in a separate section of the Albion Works called Cameo Glass. Cameo Glass supplied all glass and mirror items needed by Winward, ensuring all production is kept under one roof.
We were even among the first to sell metal beds online through our online outlet bigchoicebeds.com
At its peak, The Winward Company Limited and Cameo Glass supplied reputable manufactures such as Boots, Next Retail & Next Directory, Asda Walmart, Cousins & many more.
50 YEARS
1996
1996-2004
After the steady decline of manufacturing in the United Kingdom, Winward, along with many others, moved away from household goods and decided to focus on providing our services to the national and international markets. To reflect this we changed our name to...
Winward Engineering Limited
2004
We moved from our premise in Winson Green, Birmingham (Albion Works) and moved into our current 38,000sq ft factory in Aldridge, Walsall.
2007-2011
Charles Stephen Winkless, co-founder of The Winward Company Limited, sadly passed away. Leaving his legacy to live on in Winward Engineering Limited and with his son Paul Winkless. Tragically, Paul would pass away in 2011, only 4 years after his father. Paul left the business to his wife Andrea Winkless (Financial Director), and with their sons, Cameron Winkless (Sales Director) and Chris Winkless (Managing Director).
2011-2020
During this time, Winward made significant investment into our services. Expanding into Plasma cutting, Laser Cutting, CNC Metal Spinning, CNC Turning and more. We also further improved our Powder Coating, Deep Drawing and Welding services. During this time, we invested in our largest ever hydraulic press, with a pressing bed of 1.2 square meters.
2020
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges, but Winward Engineering adapted with resilience. We implemented strict safety measures and supported essential industries, remaining dependable despite disruptions.
2020-2025
During this time, Winward has made significant investment into our CNC services, further adding to our CNC metal spinning and turning machinery to decrease our tooling and production lead times. We have no plans on stopping our consistent investment to provide the best possible service to each and every customer.
2026
Today, Winward Engineering stands strong as one of the UK’s largest and longest-established engineering firms specialised in metal spinning. Every week, we produce thousands of precision parts, combining traditional craftsmanship with modern manufacturing techniques to deliver exceptional quality.