History

John Greenish and Sons Limited was originally situated at Tetley Street Mills, Sunbridge Road, Bradford, England, one of the oldest wool cloth manufacturers in Yorkshire.

The brand Sunbridge was not only inspired by their location, but by their fabric attributes which had acquired the reputation of fine, lightweight, smoothly finished fabrics, suitable for wear in sunny climates.

The mill was originally founded by one of the greatest pioneers of wool technology, Joseph Wilson, who devoted his life to developing the craft of hand wool combing, spinning and weaving. His career started as a family business, producing cloth from the family home, his ambition however was to mechanise production and eventually he established Horton Mills, one of the first enterprises established during the Industrial Revolution.

The mill grew quickly in stature and became a very successful, mechanised mill, accommodating combing, spinning and 350 weaving looms, employing over 500 staff.

In the early 1900’s the company joined with JohnGreenish and on 6th January 1923, on the 90th birthday of Joseph Wilson, all of the John Greenish and Joseph Wilson operations were combined under the John Greenish name in one building at Sunbridge Road, the main operations were in the Grange Shed, the most modern textile mill of its time in West Yorkshire, which had become the world centre for wool textile production.

John Greenish and Sons grew quickly, producing worsted fabrics for both UK and export clients and became one of the premier exporters of wool fabric worldwide, supplying markets in North and South America, the Caribbean and Middle and Far East markets. In 1972 the company was acquired by OMC Group Ltd and manufacturing operations were relocated in Huddersfield, the company continues to be successful in export markets, concentrating on the manufacture of the finest worsted fabrics used by the top designer brands and tailors worldwide.