Supporting British Industry & Craftsmanship
Lathco Manufacturing offer metalworking, silversmithing, electroplating and metal finishing of silverware products, furniture fittings, lighting products and components. The company is proud of its 'Made in Sheffield' mark and combines traditional hand skills with more modern precision engineering techniques.
Sheffield 'The Steel City' was the British birthplace of commercial cutlery due its geographical location, valleys with streams gave access to water power and the natural resources of iron ore and coal provided the raw material.
Lathco Manufacturing was founded by David Latham in 1979 and originally centred around the city's cutlery and hollowware industry. Following David's retirement in 2016, his son Mark took the business forward, shifting its focus toward bespoke manufacturing rather than concentrating solely on electroplating and metal polishing - retaining several highly skilled staff from the original operation in the process.
Today the company works across furniture fitting, lighting products and components and other bespoke metal-based items, applying silver, copper or nickel plate as needed.
"Despite the sharp decline of the "Little Mesters" in Sheffield there are still a number of manufacturing businesses that are adapting and keeping the tradition of cutlery and tableware alive. There were plenty of traditional techniques on show here at Lathco, including polishing with pumice and hammering - a dying craft." Carmel King photographed Lathco Manufacturing in May 2025 for The Archive.
