VENT-AXIA CELEBRATES 90 YEARS OF INNOVATION
Vent-Axia is celebrating 90 years of British manufacturing and innovation, marking the milestone with a commemorative tree planting at Crawter’s Brook People’s Park in Manor Royal, Crawley, close to its headquarters. To honour the occasion, a Fastigiate Oak was planted by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, John Barclay, DL, as part of the celebrations attended by the Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Marion Ayling, Peter Lamb MP for Crawley, Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of the Manor Royal BID, and representatives from the Crawley Museum.
Founded in 1936, Vent-Axia’s history includes supplying ventilation to Sir Winston Churchill for his Chartwell home in 1945. Today, the company develops ventilation solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications. To mark its 90th anniversary, Vent-Axia also funded a planting scheme at Crawter’s Brook, in collaboration with the Manor Royal BID, helping to enhance biodiversity and create a lasting legacy for the local community. Students from Crawley College produced an engraved commemorative oak plaque to mark the tree planting.
“We are delighted to be celebrating our 90th anniversary at Vent-Axia. From Joe Akester’s invention of the world’s first electrically-operated window fan in 1936 to the ventilation solutions we develop today, innovation has always been at the heart of our business. We are proud of our British manufacturing heritage, and it is fitting to mark this milestone by supporting a project that will benefit the local environment and community of Manor Royal that has been home to our HQ for nearly 70 years,” said Managing Director Graham Sanders.
Peter Lamb presented Vent-Axia with a framed copy of Early Day Motion 918 tabled in the House of Commons on 12 October 2026, which recognised Vent-Axia’s proud history as a leading British manufacturer of ventilation solutions, its longstanding connection to Crawley and its contribution to the local economy.
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