Aerial view of the Leigh Cables factory in Leigh
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About Leigh Cables

Making cable in Leigh since 1900.

Over 120 years of skills, knowledge and pride, handed down through generations of cable makers and built into everything we make today.

Heritage & provenance

A direct line back to Leigh's first cable works

Leigh's long association with cable stretches back over 120 years to the opening of the Anchor Cable Company in 1900.

Our direct lineage over this time benefits Leigh Cables with the skills and knowledge of generations, and a genuine pride in our addition to the heritage of our cable making town. When BICC closed its Leigh factory in 2001, a team of its specialists opened Leigh Cables, carrying that expertise straight into a new business.

Today, our innovative cable solutions can be found empowering some of the most demanding industries around the world.

0+Years of cable making heritage in Leigh
1900Anchor Cable Company founded in Leigh
0Workers at the Leigh factory at its peak
2001Leigh Cables opened by ex-BICC professionals
Our timeline

From the Queen Mary to the National Grid

Scroll through more than a century of cable making in Leigh.

1900 – 2001

Heritage & Provenance

The cable makers of Leigh, from Anchor to Callender's to BICC.

1900

Anchor Cable Company founded in Leigh

Mayor of Leigh, George Shaw, made a promise to the people to bring new industry to the town. This arrived in the form of the Anchor Cable Company, of which George Shaw was made chairman.

1903

Callender's Cable Company acquire Anchor

Following an initial few years of success, expanding from 65 to over 150 workers, Anchor Cable Company struggled to compete against Callender's Cable Company, and so in 1903 an acquisition was agreed.

1905 – 1917

Electric revolution & the world at war

In 1905 Callender's won the contract for the cable needed for the electric lighting of Bridlington. World War One provided many new contracts, and by 1917 more buildings had been erected, increasing capability and taking the workforce to over 330.

1931

Cunard RMS Queen Mary contract

The factory in Leigh was awarded the contract for the cables needed for the new Cunard White Star ocean liner, the Queen Mary: a 12-deck, 80,000-ton vessel powered by 24 boilers.

1931 – 1945

The British National Grid & World War II

Callender's played a significant role supplying cable for the construction of the British National Grid. During the Second World War the factory supplied 1,000 miles of communication cable a week for war contracts.

1945

Callender's acquired by British Insulated Cables

The Leigh factory, now with over 2,840 workers, is acquired by British Insulated Cables, where innovations such as low smoke products for London Underground, oil rigs and mines are pioneered. BICC develops products for Concorde, Airbus and ships for the Falklands conflict.

2001

Leigh Cables opens following Leigh BICC closure

BICC closes the Leigh factory in 2001 and Leigh Cables is opened shortly after by ex-BICC professionals. Much of the specialist knowledge and experience transfers directly into Leigh Cables, which continues to innovate with new cable products.

Leigh Cables sign on the factory
Modern history

Leigh Cables Today

Modern cable technologies developed to meet the demands of today's changing industrial landscapes.

2016 – 2018

Kaombo offshore ultra deep water oil project

Leigh Cables manufactured cables for the Angolan offshore project for Saipem and Total. The ultra-deep FPSO vessels tap into oil deposits up to 2,000m deep across six oil fields spread over 800 kilometres of ocean.

Oil, Gas & Offshore
2017 – 2022

Pilot cables for London Underground

Leigh Cables manufacture cables to the stringent requirements of London Underground LUL S1085, where smoke, fume toxicity and fire performance are critical. Our solutions include non-limited fire hazard and CPR B2ca compliance.

Rail & Metro
2018

Bloxwich National Grid energy storage & balancing facility

We developed and manufactured highly flexible cable solutions for the Arenko and General Electric energy storage facility at Bloxwich, designed to mitigate energy shortfalls by injecting electricity into the grid from a large scale 41MW battery facility.

Power & Renewables
2018

400kV gas insulated substation cables

Leigh Cables delivered a multicore cable solution for a new GIS project for Mitsubishi and National Grid. The 400kV Canterbury site facilitates the connection of a new HVDC link between the UK and Belgium.

Power Distribution
2019

'Big Data' corporation data centre cables

Leigh Cables pioneered the development and certification of complex access and control composite solutions for the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and other large scale data centre facilities around the world.

Data Centres
2019

Iraq grid management system cables

Leigh Cables provided SCADA and coax cables to Alstom GE Grid Solutions. New infrastructure developments in Iraq aim to improve power distribution to all sectors, including domestic, industrial, business, health and education.

Power & Control
2022

Field gas compressor instrumentation cables

We designed and manufactured replacement cables for a critical offshore field gas compressor for Spirit Energy, replacing cables installed by another supplier which had failed under exposure to turbine oils and high temperatures.

Oil & Gas
Our team

The people behind the cable

Engineers, operators, testers and support staff, many with decades of experience in Leigh's cable industry.

Talk to the team
The Leigh Cables team in front of the factory
One team, one siteDesigned, built and tested by our people in Leigh
Team member portrait

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Team member portrait

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Team member portrait

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Team member portrait

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Team member portrait

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Team member portrait

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The Leigh Cables difference

Provenance, innovation, passion

We are a competent and dynamic company, passionate about cable and the people that make it all happen. We go the extra distance to ensure quality, precision and satisfaction through the power of people, teamwork and expertise, just as the historic cable-making town of Leigh has done for 120 years.

01

We are responsive

We take a customer's brief through concept, production, testing and deployment in a much shorter cycle than most other manufacturers.

02

We are dedicated

We pride ourselves on customer-centric service. Cable challenges are our passion, and the satisfaction of a successful project is what drives us.

03

We are supportive

As a complete cable manufacturing solution, we offer support long after the cable is provided, building strong relationships and trusted to supply long term industrial projects.

04

We are your advantage

Design and production in one efficient service gives customers the competitive edge. We've been called the best kept secret behind many successful industrial contracts.

Engineer testing cable samples in the lab Measuring insulation thickness High voltage testing
Quality & compliance

High quality British standards

Our practices comply with ISO 9001 to ensure the quality of both the products and services we deliver. We work diligently to maintain our British Standards Institution certificate for the design and manufacture of industrial cables, for the assurance of our clients.

BSI ISO 9001Certificate FS 655650
British Cables AssociationMember, contributing to British, European & international standards
Made in BritainRegistered member
EN, BS, IEC & morePlus specific industrial specifications
Sustainability

Cable making with a lighter footprint

It's no secret that manufacturing is energy and resource intensive. Nobody has all the answers, but we have taken meaningful first steps: 100% renewable electricity from wind, solar and hydro, REGO certified by OFGEM, and a carbon neutral workforce, achieved by planting almost 3,000 trees every year and supporting solar power installations and rainforest preservation projects.

100%Renewable electricity
~3,000Trees planted each year
Carbon neutralWorkforce, through tree planting, solar & rainforest projects
Zero wasteGreener Path award for Zero Waste to Landfill, two years running
Be part of the next chapter

Let's write the next entry in the timeline together

Tell us what your cable has to do. Our engineers will design it, build it and prove it.

Start a project
Leigh Cables operator on the production line