GLASGOW +44 (0) 141 620 1666
INVERNESS +44 (0) 1463 238 673
INVERNESS +44 (0) 1463 238 673
20/03/2026
William Johnston & Company Limited is proud to announce that David Thorpe has been promoted to the position of Assistant Manager at our Inverness Branch.
Since joining the company, David has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to professional growth. His rapid development of the specialized skills and knowledge required in the gasket and sealing industry has quickly established him as a key asset to both the branch and our valued clients in the Highlands and Islands.
Director Billy Hardie expressed his pride in the appointment, stating that David's contributions have been significant from his first day and that his impact on the company’s overall operations is highly valued.
As our Inverness branch continues to expand its support for the Scotch whisky, construction, and engineering sectors, David’s leadership will be instrumental in maintaining the high standards of service our customers expect.
Congratulations, David, on this significant career milestone.
16/10/2025
Today we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of our CAD Guru James Nolan joining the company.
The Director’s would like to thanks James for all his efforts and look forward to seeing what the next 25 years bring.
Well done James!
10/02/2025
William Johnston & Company Limited want to assist you in making water utility flange connections leak free. We are passionate about reducing leakage and ongoing remedial maintenance costs. We are obviously not the only ones. Water Authorities, Contactors and sub-contractors all want the same. How do we achieve this?
The Holistic Approach
We require a holistic approach. We can give you the best gaskets and bolts that are suitable for the application and pertinent to the British and harmonised European standards that govern the essential parts of a flanged connection, but unless these are installed accurately every time, we still have leakage. Or we can ensure that installation is in line with Best Available Techniques and digitise the installation process to ensure ongoing installation accuracy but without the correct gaskets and bolts we again face leakage.
Highly Approved
Our WRAS approved, BS EN 681, W270 tapered Steel Rubber Gasket has been EN13555 tested pertinent to detail from EN1591 as referenced in BS EN 1092. A full suite of target torque values has then been reverse calculated using a lubrication factor of 0.12 and optimum gasket stress of 15MPa. This is achieved by appropriate lubrication of the load bearing surfaces of the fastener assembly using WRAS approved Interflon HT1200 bolt assembly lubricant.
This is the only SRG that will work in harmony with Ductile Iron flanges. BS EN 1092-2 and EN 545 constrain our bolt grade to a maximum of 4.6. BS EN 12201 PE flanges refers to ISO 9624 for details and dimensions pertinent to backing rings. Detail within ISO 9624 details “the selection of gasket type is important and will influence the performance of the joint. Drop-in steel core gaskets with or without integrated O ring have been shown to have better performance than other gasket types”. Tested to 40Bar at ambient temperature these tapered SRG will pressure test at 24Bar and offer long service life at 16Bar covering all connection types for PN16 flanges. But keep in mind they must be properly installed.
EUSR Approved Digitised Flange Assembly
EUSR approved digitised installation allows us to not only control the process but to record the individual detail that each flange assembly requires. In conjunction with ControlPoint we offer the most advanced digitised flange assembly installation available. Tailored for UK Water Utilities it raises the confidence level between design and installation. Already tried and approved on multiple large diameter schemes within the UK over the past few years and now approved by several water authorities, is it time that you reconsidered your choice of gaskets and bolts?
13/11/2024
Sandy McEwen, who has been involved with the UK Gasket & Sealing Association (UKGSA) for 15 years, retired from the committee at our AGM in September 2024.
In 1993 William Johnston & Company was one of the founding members of the Association. Sandy has been their representative since 2009 and has been Vice Chair on the committee for a number of years. He also led the fundraising activities, helping to raise over £16,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Sandy joined William Johnston & Company in 2003 and through the UKGSA made many good friends with leading figures in the industry. Following many years in director level roles, including Managing Director, at William Johnston & Company, Sandy retired in 2022 but remained on as a consultant.
This year, Sandy felt the time was right to stand down from the UKGSA committee and hand over the reins to his colleague, Robert Dawson. Robert is Commercial Director at William Johnston & Company and has attended many UKGSA events. At the recent AGM he was voted onto the committee and will take on the role of Treasurer.
25/10/2024
2004 was the year that Aaron Finlayson joined William Johnston & Company Limited. Aaron is now Factory Manager at our Inverness Branch and a multi-talented individual he has become.
Aaron keeps a keen eye on the manufacturing side of the business but is also directly involved with all our Highlands and Islands customers. His technical knowledge is extensive but, like us all, is added to with each passing year.
A valuable member of the Inverness Team, Aaron tackles each enquiry, project or issue with enthusiasm and takes pride in what he does.
The Directors, Management and staff would like to take this opportunity to thank Aaron for all his hard work and endeavours over the past 20 years.
08/08/2024
Today marks a special milestone in your life, the beginning of an exciting new chapter.
May this year be filled with unforgettable memories, endless joy, and all the love in the world. Cheers to 21 years of amazing adventures, and here’s to many more to come! Enjoy every moment—you deserve all the happiness life has to offer.
Since you started working with William Johnston & Company Limited at 17, it has been a joy to see you mature and take on additional rolls and gain experience within the company.
All the staff at Head Office Glasgow and Inverness Branch wish you a VERY HAPPY 21st Birthday.
26/06/2024
We are excited to announce our recent investment in a state-of-the-art CAD cutter for our Inverness facility.
This advanced equipment represents a significant leap forward in our production capabilities aimed at better servicing our Scottish Highlands and Islands customers.
The new CAD cutter will enable us to achieve unparalleled precision and efficiency in our manufacturing processes. With its ability to handle complex designs and a wide range of materials, the CAD cutter will not only enhance the quality of our products but also significantly reduce production time and waste.
This investment underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence in our industry. By integrating cutting-edge technology into our operations, we are positioning ourselves to meet the growing demands of our customers and stay ahead of market trends.
The Inverness facility, now equipped with this sophisticated tool, will play a pivotal role in driving our company’s local future growth and success.
27/03/2023
In the early 1970s Scotland was experiencing the early stages of its ‘Oil Boom” with rapid exploration and development of oil and natural gas fields in the often raging North Sea, the main base for the servicing and support of these being in Aberdeen.
It was there that the global oil majors and their multi-national suppliers headed to establish bases to work alongside local businesses, often previously fishing operations, to exploit the hydrocarbon resources lying offshore which required oil rigs and miles of pipelines to get them ashore and beyond to refineries and markets. In April 1973, Glasgow based William Johnston & Company Limited which was already the leading independent gasket manufacturer in Scotland, intending to benefit from the “Oil boom”, established a branch in modest premises in Anderson Street, Inverness which is nearly 100 miles to the west of Aberdeen. Why Inverness?
The company had its origins and main customer base in the shipyards on the River Clyde and the heavy industries of steel and locomotive manufacturing in the West of Scotland. Many of these customers took their skills and resources to the Moray and Dornoch Firths (these being inland and mainly calm seaways lying to the north of Inverness) where the oil rigs were built prior to being floated out to the North Sea. With these customer connections and by establishing the only gasket manufacturer in the Highlands, the company enjoyed early success and growth assisted by recruiting as Branch Manager, William Ross, an experienced Inverness local.
In 1982 the company moved to brand new premises on Seafield Road in the Longman Industrial Estate, Inverness where, after being extended and upgraded over the years, it remains today, operating a business which is somewhat different to the one set up 50 years ago.
As the construction of oil rigs declined the business diversified into selling products to the whisky distilling industry and today counts almost all the globally recognised brands among its customers. As whisky production has grown so has the engineering sector which supports it and William Johnston & Company Limited supplies a variety products for the installation of copper distillation stills and the myriad of pipes and processes associated with these.
The population of Inverness has also expanded rapidly over the past 25 years so the construction and infrastructure sectors have grown to meet the demand for housing. These rely on the Inverness branch as the only manufacturer of gaskets in the Highlands and Islands for quality products, including a wide range of specialist fasteners, and high levels of customer service.
The North of Scotland can be very inhospitable in winter and William Johnston & Company Limited have been key suppliers of rubber snow plough blades to the various roads authorities to enable them to keep the main highways, which are so vital for communications and delivery of goods to remote Highland areas, free of snow.
Billy Hardie, company Director, who has been with William Johnston & Company Limited for forty-two years and has worked in the Inverness branch since 1985 said,
“It is a privilege to live and work in the Highlands and Inverness in particular; a privilege born of the pioneering spirit of our early Directors.
Fifty years on we retain our USP as the only gasket cutting facility in the Highland and Islands, which is a definite advantage but we take particular pride that our sustained growth and influence is as much a product of our customer service and in depth knowledge of the area and people – with all their nuances.
This branch has flourished as we embraced the Company’s ‘can do’ ethos to diversify into new markets and products, such as performance plastics, tank lid and door seals, insulation goods and a wide range of standard and specialist fasteners to cope with shifts in demand over the decades. We see this as a necessity when operating in a very large geographical area with very few OEMs and myriad small, diverse and fluid industries.
I’m not sure if those Directors back in1973 had planned to have the long term presence in Inverness we have enjoyed but the current Board do and we look forward to many more years supporting this beautiful part of the United Kingdom, its industries and people.”
09/02/2023
William Johnston & Company Limited are delighted to have become a corporate member of The Pipeline Industries Guild.
Having held individual membership and realising the benefits, knowledge sharing and innovative work that is promoted it made perfect sense.
The individual members of The Pipeline Industries Guild have a tremendous width and depth of knowledge spanning multiple industries where pipeline is used. The active collaboration between members and with guidance from experienced professionals within The Guild serves well to advance safety and innovation.
Ongoing charity work in support of many very worthwhile causes offered by the Guild network is exemplary and it is something that William Johnston & Company Limited also feel passionately about. With active support given to McMillan Cancer Support from the Gasket Cutters Association and more personally to Enable Scotland as William Johnston & Company Limited, its great to be a part of an organisation that carries closely, the same values that we do.
