Shrewsbury company marks 150-year milestone with a facelift

Morris Lubricants is 150 years old this year, and has redecorated its frontage and clock tower in Castle Foregate in striking blue and gold to mark the milestone.

The clock tower is now proudly flying a golden British flag, reflecting the family-run company’s proud heritage and tradition.

Grocer and candle maker James Kent Morris could never have envisaged becoming a global oil exporter when he first set up shop in Shrewsbury in 1869.

But the Morris family’s link with the business has been maintained ever since, and today the reins rest in the hands of chairman Andrew Goddard, a fifth-generation descendant of the founder.

Morris Lubricants has been based at Castle Foregate since 1927, when the company took over the former Corbett’s Perseverance Iron Works for the princely sum of £6,500.

Mr Goddard said: “This proved a pivotal decision in the company’s history, as Morris Lubricants is still proudly making products from the site today, and exporting to more than 80 countries all over the world.

“Any company is only as strong as the people who work for it, and the success of Morris Lubricants has been built over the years by its many staff, who have embraced an ethos of providing a unique, personal service to customers.”

Managing director Chris Slezakowski added: “This is a tremendous company. It’s very rare to find a company that is celebrating 150 years of trading.

“That gives me a feeling of longevity and investment in its workers and, after working for a number of global companies, it’s great to feel part of a business that is firmly established in the local community. Founder James Kent Morris said: ‘To do the common thing uncommonly well brings success’, which is great. The words ‘quality’ and ‘value’ seem to run like a thread through Morris Lubricants.”