About Tong Engineering
From humble roots
With an annual turnover of over £19 million, and engineering roots dating back to 1930, Tong Engineering has over 90 years of experience as grading machine manufacturers, creating advanced and efficient vegetable handling equipment, from single machines to complete, custom-built handling solutions.
Now exporting world-class equipment to more than 50 countries worldwide, Tong Engineering offers a vegetable handling solution for a wide range of root crop and vegetables, from potatoes, onions and carrots, to parsnips, brussel sprouts, broccoli, swede and more. However, Tong’s beginnings were of a more modest scale when it began trading as an ironmonger in Spilsby, Lincolnshire.
Almost a century of experience
The ironmongers shop was originally run by Edmund Jackson Tong, great-grandfather of Edward Tong who heads-up the business today.
Over the past 90 years, the fourth-generation family business has seen significant growth and change.
During the 1930s, Edmund’s son Ken saw an opportunity to diversify into making simple equipment for local farmers. He started his new business in a former candle making factory, a short distance away from the shop in Spilsby, with equipment such as sack barrows and pig pens.
The business flourished and became independent from the shop, which still trades as E J Tong and Sons and is run by another branch of the family.
A Growing Business
More expansion followed in the 1980s under the influence of Ken Tong’s son, Charles, who is now Chairman of the company.
He realised that increased specialisation in potato production plus significant changes in the way the crop was marketed were creating a demand for more sophisticated machinery with a bigger capacity.
An early result of the policy change was the Caretaker grader, which remains one of Tong Engineering’s best selling machines, and is a strong market leader in its field.
The early Caretakers offered growers and packhouses the extra throughputs they increasingly required, alongside careful and gentle handling, to meet the demands of supermarkets and processors for a high specification crop.
The Caretaker is now just one machine in Tong’s wide range of advanced handling equipment, which is still designed upon the same principles to maximise efficiencies through increased throughput, gentle handling, reduced labour and minimal maintenance.
FOURTH GENERATION TONG FAMILY
Fast forward to the 21st century and Charles Tong’s son Edward joined the company in 2003, resulting in the fourth generation of the Tong family bringing yet another surge of new ideas to the business.
Further expansion came in 2004 with the take-over of another Lincolnshire based company, Peal Engineering, bringing a change of name to Tong Peal.
The acquisition broadened the company’s product range once again by adding a successful range of washers and polishers for potatoes, carrots and other root crops, plus additional specialist vegetable handling machinery.
Expansion into
new areas
As well as the development of the company’s vegetable washing, polishing and processing equipment, the company also extended its product range further with the addition of heavy duty recycling equipment suitable for sorting and recycling a wide variety of waste materials.
In 2015, after 27 years at the helm of the company, Charles Tong took the role of company Chairman as he handed over the reigns to his son Edward, who became Managing Director, and the company changed its Tong Peal branding back to Tong Engineering.
In 2020 the company welcomed Teresa Morgan and Neil Martin to its board of directors as Finance and Operations Directors respectively, further strengthening the company’s strategic direction to maintain its strong family values whilst working towards ongoing growth. More recently, Charlie Rich and Simon Lee also joined the board as joint Sales Directors in 2021.
A NEW ACQUISITION
With a steadfast dedication to growth, continually seeking opportunities to expand and enhance its market presence, in November 2023 Tong Engineering acquired UK manufacturer Terry Johnson Ltd, best-known for manufacturing the well-known Swift Lift range of elevators and conveyors. Tong Engineering Ltd Group was born to accommodate the acquisition, incorporating Tong Engineering Ltd alongside Terry Johnson Ltd, which now trades as Tong Swift Lift. The acquisition not only broadens Tong Engineering’s portfolio, but also reinforces the company’s position as a leader in the industry. Tong Swift Lift equipment continues to be manufactured in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, where the Terry Johnson Ltd business was established in 1986.
The future of
Tong Engineering
Tong continues to adapt and grow today, and now manufactures industry leading handling solutions that are in operation across the globe.
As the company pursues its ongoing expansion plans, Tong is pleased to have completed the build of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in its hometown of Spilsby.
The new facility boasts advanced manufacturing systems and increased production capacity, ensuring Tong is well placed to produce the highest quality handling equipment and meet worldwide industry demands as the company continues to progress.
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