It has been far from plain sailing for one of Keighley’s best-known and once-largest companies, renowned lathe manufacturer Dean, Smith and Grace.

The ravages of economic cycles and migration of machine tool (and much other) manufacturing to the Far East have buffeted the firm in recent decades, resulting in it drastically shrinking in size, trading under different guises, ending production of new equipment for several years – and even entering administration before being rescued to fight another day.

It’s a much happier picture now. Dean, Smith and Grace, for the past couple of years owned by Halifax-based MTTG Group, has recently relaunched the original Oil Tool Grinder machine, which is enjoying an export boom and is shipped to countries including China, America and the Middle East for use mainly in the oil and gas sector.

The machine is the only one designed and developed specifically to meet the day-to-day requirements of the oil industry, own equipment manufacturers and repair shops for grinding and regrinding tools and equipment.

Made by MTTG since 2004, the heavy-duty grinder has been further improved by Dean, Smith & Grace and renamed the OTG2, incorporating a new computerised control system.

The OTG2 machines are designed, manufactured, commissioned and tested in the MTTG and Dean, Smith & Grace technology and production facilities in Keighley and Halifax.

According to MTTG group chief executive Carl Griffiths, who lives in Silsden, the OTG2 is only the first new product being developed by Dean, Smith and Grace. Others are on the drawing board (or digital screen).

New product development and new equipment is part of hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of investment being made by MTTG in the Keighley operation.

The group is also beefing up Dean, Smith and Grace’s sales and marketing operations, including the recent opening of a base in Dubai serving seven Gulf states. The new office is headed by Bradford-born Martin Verity, who has worked in the region for several years.

Carl, one of three partners in the MTTG Group backed by Hughes Armstrong Corporate Investment, has more than 25 years’ experience in the machine-tool sector and was fully aware of the strong reputation of Dean, Smith and Grace lathes long before he was connected with the business.

Carl said: “Before joining MTTG, I worked for a competitor of Dean, Smith and Grace, whose products have long been a byword for quality. The company had an enviable reputation but had suffered various setbacks due to competition from the Far East and economic downturn.

“We believe it is a company whose brand, heritage and strong reputation are major assets worthy of investment and future development. ”

The company, whose lathes have long been regarded as the Rolls-Royce of their field, was founded by three Victorian entrepreneurs – Joseph Dean, James Smith and John Grace – in 1865 when Britain was the workshop of the world. At its peak the company employed 4,000 people. During World War Two, when Keighley was a major munitions centre, Dean, Smith and Grace made 100 lathes a month, mainly used aboard repair ships.

The company was bought by US-based Monarch in 1974 and sold in 1992 to DSG Lathes, which ran it as a low-key operation, rebuilding and refurbishing used lathes, which remains a key part of the Keighley operation as there are more than 43,000 Dean, Smith and Grace machines in use around the world.

In 2005, former Rolls-Royce engineer Nigel Grainger liked Dean, Smith & Grace so much he bought the company, promising to revive the world-famous brand, dormant since the 1990s.

Sadly, that was not to be and in 2008 it entered administration before being bought by Newsmith Stainless, based in Roberttown, Liversedge.

Carl said Dean,Smith and Grace was a natural fit for MTTG, which has a turnover of around £7 million designing, manufacturing and distributing machine tools such as horizontal CNC lathes, special purpose cylindrical grinding machines, crankshaft grinding systems and special machine tools for the rail sector.

Its operations integrate processes, with some Keighley-made components assembled in Halifax, which also houses the design and development functions, while Keighley focuses on engineering manufacturing, servicing and spares.

MTTG currently employs 28 people in Halifax and 18 in Keighley – including three school-leavers undergoing apprenticeships.

Carl said: “Retaining and developing skills is crucial. Much of this industry has gone east but at last UK manufacturing is seeing something of a resurgence.

“We have one employee about to complete 50 years with us, while at the other end of the scale we’ve taken on three 16 and 17-year-olds.

“It’s been a struggle to get youngsters interested in an engineering career as the sector is still perceived by many as an ‘oily rag’ business, which these days is a misconception. We are committed to developing skills and investing in people as well as technology and innovation.” Around 65 per cent of machines made by the group are exported. One lathe on line is destined to join others in Siberia.

Carl said India was a key target market, with the Middle East and the United States already strong.

In China, UK producers were up against low-cost indigenous manufacturers and Carl said the challenge was to convince potential customers of the benefits of paying for high-quality kit.

Dean, Smith and Grace has joined the Bradford and Airedale Manufacturers Alliance, which lobbies for the sector.

Carl called on the Government to provide more tax incentives to underpin engineering and manufacturing recovery.

“In many of the markets we trade in we are up against producers that receive a great deal more help from their governments than we do here.”

Nevertheless, he is optimistic Dean, Smith and Grace has a good long-term future as part of MTTG, whose backers Hughes Armstrong are committed to its expansion, which may eventually mean the Keighley firm seeking larger premises.