NDC's foundations were forged in 1987, when Fletcher Bickerton built a new 10,000 sq ft works in Manchester to service the Electro-Mechanical market in the North West. This was a substantial £1M+ investment and the new business was known as Fletcher Bickerton (Northern) Ltd.
1993
Fletcher Bickerton (Northern) was purchased as a management buy-in.
1997
Following rapid expansion, Northern Drives & Controls was formed as a division of FBNL in Manchester to service the emerging electronic and automation repair market.
1999
FBNL changed its name to CPM (Complete Plant Maintenance Engineering Ltd). This was part of the original buy-in agreement and the name better described the company's main activities which now included a range of plant maintenance capabilities from more traditional repairs work to on-site services, customer care programmes, condition based monitoring, stores management and asset management programmes. Northern Drives & Controls outgrew its facility at Barton Dock Road and was relocated to a dedicated 6,000 sq ft electronics laboratory facility in Trafford Park, Manchester. Over this short time the company had grown its customer base substantially and become known as a reliable repairer of industrial electronic equipment from a wide range of different manufacturers.
The company also acquired McCall's Electronics Company of Whitchurch Hampshire and renamed it NDC to service the electronics and automation market in the South East.
2004
Due to increased growth NDC South East relocated to a dedicated 3,000 sq ft site in Slough. This allowed the company to offer a greater range of services to customers including 24-hour rapid response and the ability through advanced new equipment, to fully functionally test more electronic equipment.
2007
Our South East Service Centre relocated to larger premises within the Slough Trading Estate, facilitating increased production and accommodating additional function testing cells.
2009
NDC developed its Test, Diagnose, Refurbish, Test philosophy which included R&D capability in order to fully functional test repaired drives and offer refurbished drives as an alternative to conventional repairs.
2010
In October 2010 our South East Service Centre, having again outgrown its existing facility in 3 years, relocated to larger 6,000 sq ft premises within the Slough Trading Estate. This investment was pivotal in supporting our customers in the South, South East and Greater London. It was ideally located as a repair, test and training facility, and as a hub to dispatch field engineers to undertake on-site fault finding. The new service centre had an increased production capacity and additional function testing facilities.
2011
CPM, our sister company, opened its CPM ServoLab in Manchester to support an increasing number of customers requiring complete support for their servo and spindle motors. CPM ServoLab provides OEM quality repair of all makes and models of Servo and permanent magnet motors.
NDC developed its Overdrive software platform controlling all aspects of the business including the use of Big Data, traceability and testing.
2012
NDC launched its export services designed to give our customers around the world the benefits of NDC's refurbished drives via its network of strategic partners.
2014
NDC's Manchester works was relocated to a purpose-built facility at Barton Dock Road. This new state-of-the-art building supports our customers in the North & Midlands, exports and housing our R&D facilities.
2016
NDC was honoured with the Queen's Award for Enterprise, the UK's most prestigious business distinction, celebrating growth and international trade achievements.
2018
Upgrades were made to our Head Office in Manchester including R&D and training facilities and including the addition of new offices and a modern service centre. These improvements created the ideal environment to deliver personalised, hands-on training programmes for our customers.
2019
NDC España acquired ATN Electronics in Alicante, extending its reach across Spain and reinforcing support for Southern European market.
NDC GmbH was founded in Germany, establishing a dedicated Sales & Technical Support Centre in Gelsenkirchen to serve the growing needs of the Central European market.
2020
Our presence in the UK grew further with the relocation of our London Service Centre into a purpose-built 12,000 sq ft facility.
That year also saw the introduction of Simulift: an innovative platform replicating real site conditions. This development advanced our Test, Diagnose, Refurbish, Test philosophy, ensuring every refurbished drive is validated under field-like circumstances.
2022
NDC strengthened its footprint in North America through the acquisition of Specialized Electronics Services Group in Dallas, Texas. This move gave us a cutting-edge Service Centre, enhancing both regional coverage and customer support capabilities.
2023
Committed to sustainability, NDC joined forces with The University of Manchester to demonstrate the environmental advantages of refurbishment over purchasing new drives. Groundbreaking research led by Dr Laurence Stamford revealed that refurbished drives can lower the environmental impact of elevator installations by up to 91%. The first study of its kind worldwide, underscoring the positive impact of our approach.
2025
A new milestone came with the merger between NDC and Bart Elevator Service, a long-established company in New York. This union not only expands our presence in North America but also establishes a brand-new Service Centre in New York City, enabling us to support customers across the region with even greater efficiency.