Built To Keep You Moving
N E Vulcanising wasn’t built overnight. It was built through long hours, family sacrifice, and sheer determination. What started as one man working alone with a van and a set of tools has grown into one of the UK’s leading conveyor belt maintenance and vulcanising companies.
Nigel left school in 1981 and started work the very same day, joining his eldest brother Paul in the building trade. Two years later, after meeting his future wife Alison and learning they were expecting their first daughter, he needed something more stable. His brother-in-law Kevan helped him secure a role at Hem Heath Colliery.
Life underground was tough. Long rotating shifts meant Nigel was missing family life, and he hated every minute. He called in sick so often the pit manager even threatened to make him the first person he’d ever sacked.
A Shift in Direction
Then came 1986 — his 21st birthday, and the moment everything changed.
Nigel nearly rang in sick for a noon shift so he could celebrate that evening. Alison convinced him to go in. Seeing how unhappy he was on his birthday, the Under Manager offered him an early finish — and more importantly, a permanent dayshift role maintaining the underground conveyors.
Nigel took the opportunity with both hands.
For the first time, he had found work he genuinely enjoyed. He committed himself fully to learning the trade, building a reputation for reliability and hard work. His son Daniel was born shortly after, and Nigel never missed another day — even earning recognition for perfect attendance.
Without realising it, he had found the trade that would define his life.
Starting N E Vulcanising
When Hem Heath Colliery closed in 1993, Nigel — alongside thousands of others — was made redundant. With a young family and his second daughter on the way, giving up wasn’t an option.
He worked for various crushing and screening companies, across quarries, brickworks, foundries and recycling plants, building a strong reputation as someone who turned up, worked hard, and got the job done properly.
In July 2000 — just six days before the birth of his third daughter — Nigel took the biggest risk of his life and became self-employed. N E Vulcanising was born.
In the early days, Nigel worked alone, travelling the country carrying out conveyor belt maintenance, mechanical repairs, and vulcanised joints wherever the work took him. Days were long, nights were longer, and there were no shortcuts. Alison handled the paperwork from home, often completing invoices on the sofa after the children were in bed. The family home became the office, and it wasn’t unusual for the children to answer the phone to customers calling for work.
Growth and Expansion
In 2004, the company became N E Vulcanising Ltd. Every bit of growth came through reinvestment, hard work, and earning trust within the industries they served. By 2009, demand had grown so much that Nigel’s son Daniel joined the business, marking the start of the next generation.
At the time, tools and stock were still being kept in lock-up garages near the family home. But in 2010, the company took on its first industrial unit. It was modest, with a converted container outside acting as the office, but it gave the business a real operational base for the first time.
From there, growth accelerated. The team expanded, more vans were added, and in 2012 the company began importing large stocks of conveyor belting. This became one of its strengths — allowing faster response times, reduced downtime, and a service many competitors simply couldn’t match.
As demand grew, so did capability. In 2014, N E Vulcanising moved into a larger unit and invested in belt slitters, belt winders, and even more vulcanising presses. This improved efficiency, reduced turnaround times, and further increased their ability to serve their growing customer base.
Long-standing supplier relationships were also built during this time — many of which remain in place today — and more staff joined the growing family business, including Nigel and Alison’s youngest daughter Samantha.
The Present & Future
At the end of 2019, N E Vulcanising moved into its current premises — a 15,000 sq. ft unit. The biggest step forward in its history so far. Shortly after the move, COVID-19 struck. While many businesses paused, N E Vulcanising continued supporting essential industries throughout, adapting quickly to keep customers operating safely.
We have since gone from strength to strength. Stockholding increased significantly, with hundreds of thousands of metres of conveyor belting held at any one time, alongside a full range of fasteners, belt cleaners and other components. This level of stock allows rapid response when customers need it most, helping minimise costly downtime and keep operations moving for many customers at once.
Investment continued across equipment and infrastructure — cranes, forklifts, more vulcanising presses, specialist PVC presses, and a modern fleet of fully equipped vans with onboard power supplies — ensuring the team can work efficiently in even the most demanding environments, including servicing the biggest limestone quarry in Europe.
Today, N E Vulcanising Ltd is a team of 15, including 11 highly skilled engineers alongside Nigel, Alison and their four children.
What began with a single van and a determination to provide for a young family has become something built on far more than growth or equipment — it is built on trust, graft, and decades of doing the job properly. And after all these years, that’s still exactly how it’s done.