John Guest is a British

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

of push-in fittings, pipe and plastic plumbing systems. Its industries and applications include drink dispensing,

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery ...

pneumatics Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located and elec ...

compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and o ...

Systems, water purification, drinks vending, automotive and

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

. Headquartered in Yiewsley,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, John Guest has offices in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, Asia, Europe as well as the Pacific. It was founded in 1961 by John Guest. John Guest was acquired by Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd, in June 2018

Company facts

John Guest has facilities in the UK, Europe, North America, Korea and the Pacific with over 1200 employees. Yiewsley is the production site for many of its products; however, the company has spread operations across sites in

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Ha ...

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...

and Launceston in the UK. The first overseas company - John Guest SA was created in France in 1983. Two years later John Guest Pacific Ltd opened in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and in 1986 John Guest USA Inc opened in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. John Guest Italia SRL opened in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, followed by John Guest Gmbh in Bielefeld in Germany in 1990. In 1997, new offices were established in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

- JG Pacific and John Guest SL in

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. The first Far East operation opened in 2004 Seoul, South Korea. In 2005 the company opened an office in Ceske-Budejovice in the Czech Republic and in 2008 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

in Poland.

History

The company founder, John Guest, was born in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in 1927. Guest started his working life as a toolmaker apprentice in the

Royal Ordnance factory Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministr ...

in Hayes. In 1950, Guest developed his first prototype hollow pressure die-casting machine. Under the name of John Guest Engineering, the newly established company specialized in tool making and precision engineering. It operated out of a small building that was known as Factory 1. The following year, John Guest Engineering merged with Guest Castings Ltd - a company specializing in

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

die-casting. This business also operated out of the Factory 1 site and its name remained unchanged until the early 1970s. During the 1960s both companies grew steadily specializing in simple die-cast products and tool making, consolidating their business in the white goods and automotive industries. Renamed to John Guest Ltd in the early 1970s, Guest castings started producing more complex die-cast items and machining for the UK's major pneumatic valve manufacturers. The steady expansion enjoyed by the company was also the result of the investment in the second operation-machining department and painting facilities, including an automatic black elector-phonetic paint plant. In 1974, Guest invented the ‘speed fit’ tube connector concept followed by opening his second factory at Yiewsley covering around 9,000 sq ft the same year. In 1978 the company known today was formed, established specifically to market products designed and produced under the group name of John Guest Ltd. John Guest Ltd. was recognized as a leading UK export manufacturer with two Queen's Awards for Export Achievement both in 1990 and 1995. In 2010, John Guest died aged 83. The three sons of John Guest serve as Directors. They are Robert, Barry and Tim Guest. More recently, two grandsons, Tristan and James Guest, became Directors.

JG Speedfit Twist & Lock® Fittings

In 1974, Guest invented the ‘Super Speedfit’ tube connector concept. The new product reduced assembly times to a few seconds with an instant tube-coupling system, which needed no tools for putting together or disconnecting.''Mary Jo Martin'', The Wholesaler, Engineered plastic fittings making connections across U.S., August 20, 2013
The original fittings had brass collets and zinc or brass bodies. The current speedfit range mainly incorporates plastic fittings and plastic collets but still maintains the

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

teeth, an essential part of the collet design.

Underfloor Heating

John Guest manufactures

Underfloor heating Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor. Heating is achieved by conduction, radiation and ...

(UFH) products and is a member of the Underfloor Heating Manufacturers Association in the UK.

References

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External links

Official Americas WebsiteOfficial UK Website
Building materials companies of the United Kingdom Plumbing materials companies Companies based in the London Borough of Hillingdon