Cutwel 庆祝成立30周年：从YG-1英国代理到服务超1.3万家客户的刀具分销商

National engineering tooling specialist marks three decades of growth, innovation and partnership

Cutwel, one of the UK’s leading specialist distributors of cutting tools and machine tool accessories, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026.

Established on 23 May 1996 by Paul and Mary Hawksworth, Cutwel began with a clear ambition: to give UK precision engineers access to high-quality tooling, with fast delivery and competitive pricing, supported by knowledgeable people and dependable customer service. The foundations of the business were laid after Paul visited the EMO manufacturing exhibition in Milan and met Hokeun Song, the owner of then up and coming Korean cutting-tool manufacturer YG-1. Cutwel was subsequently appointed as YG-1’s UK agent, helping the manufacturer establish its products in the British market.

From modest beginnings in a small end-terrace property, Cutwel began trading with a limited catalogue of YG-1 HSS milling cutters. Its first employee, Nikki Everitt, handled everything from selling and ordering tools to picking, packing and credit control. Nikki remains with Cutwel today, making her an important part of the company’s 30-year story. Over the following years, the business steadily expanded, investing in its people, products, and technological capabilities. Cutwel became the UK agent for Korean indexable tooling manufacturer Korloy in 1999, while the company’s continued growth led to a series of moves into progressively larger premises. 

Current CEO Adam Gillard joined Cutwel in 2001 as a marketing executive after leaving university. His progression through the business reflects Cutwel’s longstanding commitment to recruiting local inexperienced raw talent, developing, training, and promoting people from within.  Today 75% of management staff in the business started off with Cutwel being there first job. 

From 2010 onwards the company grew rapidly due to a strategy that included several new exclusive brand partnerships across cutting tools, machine tool accessories and measuring tools, investment in ecommerce technology, and expansion of the sales team.  This resulted in turnover growing from approximately £2 million to £15 million within just six years and the customer base expanding to over 8000 end users across the British Isles. 

Further milestones included the relocation from its 3rd premises in Dewsbury to a 20,000 sq ft head quarters Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. The site provided purpose-built warehousing, modern offices and the capacity required to support its growing team and product portfolio.  

A new chapter began in May 2018 when Paul and Mary retired and a management buyout was completed with the backing of NorthEdge Capital. The buyout was led by Adam Gillard, alongside Graham Short and Shaunie Mangham.

The investment supported a period of rapid expansion. Cutwel increased its workforce from around 50 employees to more than 90 over the following 5 years, whilst annual sales grew from approximately £15 million at the time of the buyout to £26m in 2024.  During the period the company embarked on a forward-looking rebrand designed to reflect the company’s development, values and ambitions for the future, significant investments in product range expansion, technology systems and headcount, with the workforce doubling in size.

In 2024, NorthEdge passed the baton to Inflexion, a leading European mid-market private equity firm. Inflexion invested in Cutwel through its Enterprise Fund V, alongside the management team led by Adam Gillard. As Cutwel’s majority investment partner, Inflexion is supporting the company’s long-term growth strategy, including the continued development of its sales operation, data and business intelligence capabilities, digital offering and relationships with customers and suppliers. Today, Cutwel employs more than 95 trained people and serves over 13,000 customers across the UK and Ireland. The business works with more than 40 tooling suppliers and has sold over 14 million tools during its history.

Its extensive range includes cutting tools, toolholding, workholding, metrology equipment, cutting fluids and machine tool accessories. These products are supported by knowledgeable customer service teams and experienced technical engineers who provide both remote and on-site assistance. Cutwel works with businesses across the precision engineering and manufacturing industries, from small owner-operated workshops to some of the country’s leading manufacturers. Its role extends beyond supplying products: the company helps customers improve machining performance, increase productivity, reduce cost per component and maintain reliable production.

Adam Gillard, Chief Executive Officer of Cutwel, said:

“Celebrating Cutwel’s 30th anniversary is an incredibly proud moment for everyone connected with the business.

“What Paul and Mary created in 1996 was built on strong relationships, hard work and a determination to offer engineers something different. Those principles remain at the heart of Cutwel today. Our growth from a small family business into the UK’s leading specialist engineering tooling distributors would not have been possible without the commitment of our employees, the trust of our customers and the support of our supplier partners. We are proud of our history, but this anniversary is also about looking forward. With the continued support of Inflexion and the strength of our management team and employees, we have an exciting opportunity to build on our foundations, develop our customer offering and support even more engineering and manufacturing businesses in the years ahead.”

To mark the anniversary, Cutwel welcomed customers and suppliers to a special 30th anniversary celebration at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on Saturday 3 October 2026. The event recognised the many people and partnerships that have shaped Cutwel’s journey, while celebrating the company’s continued commitment to the future of British and Irish engineering.

For more information, visit www.cutwel.co.uk.

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