Supporting British Industry & Craftsmanship
Kaymet produce aluminium trays, hotplates and trolleys from their factory Kaymet Works, just off the Old Kent Road. They supply shops, hotels, restaurants, even yachts and aircraft, in forty countries.
In its 1960s heyday, when the hostess trolley was a must for dinner parties, Kaymet employed nearly 200 people and was selling through 64 overseas agents. But tastes changed and by 2013, sales supported only 3 employees. The business anticipated closure before a just-in-time rescue by Mark Brearley with his wife Ivana Milanovic and brother John Brearley. Together, with General Manager Ken Schreiber Kaymet has more than tripled its production, to 25,000 aluminium trays a year and is back to 14 staff, 150 stockists and exports 70% of their output. In 2024 Kaymet earned its second Royal Warrant.
All of their products are made in-house and operations include chopping, guillotine cutting, cropping, graining, pressing, punching, turning, bending, drilling, linishing, polishing, and assembly. Kaymet extrusions are produced up in Cumbria, powder coating is done by a business nearby on the Old Kent Road, and anodising sent out to one company elsewhere in London and another in Crawley. All packing and dispatch takes place at the Peckham factory.
Mark Brearley is a Professor of Urbanism at London Metropolitan University. He has worked tirelessly to collate London manufacturers, keeping spreadsheets of who makes what where. His website London Makes details some of this work.
"Mark Brearley and I have collaborated on various projects over the past decade, including our 'visual audits of industry' and our two books Made in London and Made in Gloucester. For many years he has been deep-delving into London's production scene; researching, visiting and cataloguing the 3,000 manufacturing businesses that London hosts. Mark's databases which are UK wide have been hugely helpful in my own research and ongoing documentation of factories and workspaces. His heroic efforts in championing British manufacturers - especially those that are determined to stay in our cities and not be pushed out, deserves to be recognised and Kaymet is wonderful example of a London business which he has saved and worked hard to put back on the map." Carmel King photographed Kaymet in April 2018 for a booklet, Old Kent Road Manufactures and February 2022 for Made in London.
