Celebrating 40 Years of Innovation and Reliability: The Hytek Story

Celebrating 40 Years of Innovation and Reliability: The Hytek Story

This year, we’re proud to celebrate 40 years of Hytek (GB) Ltd — four decades of dedication to the fuel, lubrication, and fluid handling industry. From humble beginnings in 1985 to becoming a respected market leader, our journey has been driven by customer service, product expertise, and a spirit of innovation.

How It All Began

Hytek was founded in August 1985 by Ian Taylor and Kevin Arnold — a unique pairing of mechanical savvy and electronics expertise. Ian had a background in welding and fuel systems, while Kevin brought a precision-focused electronics skillset to the table. Together, they set out to fill a gap in the market for a reliable commercial cabinet diesel pump that could be ordered today and delivered tomorrow — something unheard of at the time.

Our very first product was the SK109 cabinet diesel pump, manufactured in Germany and modified in the UK to meet local needs. We assembled and wet-tested every unit ourselves. At a time when competitors had 12-week lead times, we promised next-day delivery — and delivered on it.

County Pumps: A Moment That Defined Us

Andy Seal recalls visiting County Pumps several years after our early days. They remembered a phone call from Ian to Anne Rodda, offering a new diesel pump with a bold promise: “Place your order today and you’ll receive it tomorrow.” Anne relayed the message to her business partner Ted Etty, who laughed and said, “Go on then — place the order. It won’t turn up.” But it did before lunch. Still unconvinced, Ted challenged the odds with another order the very next day — and once again, the pump arrived before lunchtime.

That moment turned heads and changed minds. It cemented a relationship that continues to this day, with County Pumps still relying on Hytek nearly four decades later. As Andy says, “Ian sold and Kevin delivered.” And you can see a photo of that original SK pump in this article — a reminder of the reliability that’s been at our core from the very beginning.

From an Idea to a Brand

Kevin coined the name “Hytek” — short, modern and flexible enough to suit whatever we might go on to offer. Ian headed out to register the business, only to discover someone had beaten us to the name. His solution? Add “(GB)” to make it unique. Kevin wasn’t convinced at the time, but it’s worked for 40 years and still sounds just right.

You can see one of our favourite early photos: Ian standing beside two silver cars in front of our first units at Golds Business Park — a snapshot of the beginning of a journey that would eventually take us to Delta House.

Built on Strong Principles
Our founding values remain central to how we work today:
• We only sell to trade professionals — resellers and installers.
• We stock the products we sell.
• We dispatch quickly, on the same day, with next day delivery as standard for UK mainland addresses.
• We make it easy to order from us.
• We understand our products inside out.
• We take responsibility.
• And above all, we’re nice to people.

If you’ve ever visited our website, you’ll see this in action — pricing and ordering is exclusive to registered trade customers.

Milestones, Moves and Momentum

In 1987, we hired our first full-time employee, Clive Wellings, who played a pivotal role in designing our ALPHA pump range and Hytek alarms. By 1990, we had moved into purpose-built premises at Golds Business Park — a move that gave us the space we needed to expand, just in time to navigate a recession and diversify our product offering.
The early ‘90s saw us achieve ISO 9000 certification, a standard that helped lay the groundwork for future regulatory compliance, including ATEX. We introduced our own engineered products, developed international supplier relationships, and kept growing through every challenge.

In 2001, we moved into Delta House — a £1.1 million facility more than double the size of our previous home. The move brought our team under one roof and helped us improve stockholding and operational efficiency. We’ll be showing a current photo of Delta House in this article — a modern image of what Hytek looks like today.

Innovation at the Core

Over the years, we’ve designed and launched our own ATEX-certified alarms, updated our ALPHA range, and expanded into new sectors including agriculture and plant. We introduced lean principles across the business, improving internal processes and customer response times. Our technical team grew too, with long-serving team members like Chris Barton now leading the way.

We also welcomed new companies into the Hytek family — Pumptronics Europe and O.L.E. UK — and transferred their manufacturing to our UK site. These moves expanded both our expertise and our capacity.

Leadership for the Future

Ian retired in 2006 and Kevin followed in 2017. We thank them for their vision, integrity and commitment to building something lasting. In 2022, Jacquie Davies became Managing Director, bringing with her a deep understanding of the industry and a clear focus on innovation, digital transformation and service.

“It’s an honour to lead Hytek into its next chapter,” says Jacquie. “The founders built a business rooted in reliability, trust and innovation — values that still guide us today. As we celebrate 40 years, we’re just as focused on delivering for our customers as we were in 1985.”

Thank You for 40 Years

Many of the companies that received our very first invoices — Vectec (formerly FPT Installations), Centaur, Ideal Tanks, Metcraft, Arnold Diggle and Premier Service— are still our customers today. That’s something we’re incredibly proud of.

To mark the occasion, we’d love to hear your Hytek memories. If you’ve got a story, a photo of a Hytek product in use, or a fond anecdote from working with us, please email it to us along with your permission to share it. We’ll select ten entries to receive a £40 Amazon voucher — and feature them (with credit) in future marketing.

Looking Ahead

2025 also brought the launch of our brand-new website — a fresh platform that goes beyond a web shop. It showcases our full product range, service sectors, editorial content, and industry news — all designed to support our trade customers and keep you informed.

To everyone who has been part of our journey so far — thank you. Here’s to the next 40.