Prestcold was a British refrigerator manufacturer, established by the Pressed Steel Co. Ltd of Oxford in 1934. Prestcold operated several manufacturing plants in the UK including Theale (near Reading) and Crymlyn Burrows in Wales. Prestcold household refrigerators were often known for their good design and durability.
The company opened a brand new £5M factory at Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea in 1961.[1]
In the early 1960s, John Bloom’s Rolls Razor company sub-contracted Prestcold to manufacture his low price Rolls Rapide washing machines. This initially boomed, but later closed down after orders reached saturation point.
Prestcold, along with other parts of Pressed Steel, was absorbed into BMC in 1966 which became part of British Leyland in 1969. Prestcold passed into Leyland Special Products after the Ryder Report.
Prestcold ended household refrigerator production and focused on commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment. The Crymlyn Burrows factory was sold to the Ford Motor Company in the mid 1960s and used to manufacture car parts.
In 1976, Prestcold bought the Searle company and in 1981 Prestcold was acquired by Suter plc, a diverse engineering and chemicals company based in Grantham, Lincolnshire.[2]
The Prestcold brandname was also used for household refrigerators by McAlpine Prestcold Limited in New Zealand.