William Lee

William Lee has existed as an iron foundry for over 100 years and spent the majority of its time on Callywhite Lane. It has deep history since it began in 1860 as a family business at Montrose Works, Sheffield. The company moved to Callywhite Lane in 1901 and in 1924 the business was no longer owned by the Lee family. The foundry specialised in the production of malleable iron castings under various owners, such as William Prestwich and Sons in 1924, Tarmac in 1963 and Parkfield Group in 1986. During the Parkfield years the foundry started the move away from Malleable iron to spheroidal graphite iron (SG iron) as the business moved more towards truck and automotive iron castings. In 1991 the company was acquired by Castings PLC, and since that time the business has seen significant investment in new buildings, plant and equipment heading towards £50M. Today William Lee is one of the largest foundries left in the UK, following the demise of the UK foundry industry due to lack of investment, productivity and intense Worldwide competition. It is continual investment in plant, processes and a dedicated workforce that has enabled the company to remain in business. The company’s old 4 tonne ladles mark the entrance to Dronfield in two strategic places. These ladles where used for the production of malleable iron produced through cupola melting. Iron being transferred from the cupola receiving drum into these ladles for transferring into a large holding furnace.