Apropa Machinery Limited Company History

Apropa Homepage

Company Profile

Company Personnel

Represented Agencies

Company Profile

During 2004, Apropa Machinery Limited celebrated its’ 50th Anniversary of being in business in the United Kingdom. This golden jubilee marks 50 years of service to individuals, manufacturers and corporations doing business throughout Europe and the world.

Founded in 1954 by Dr. Michael Mayer, the company was established in Poultry, City of London with a principal mission of supplying specialized machinery to the Foam Industry as well as Phosphates for the meat industry. This dual specialization led to the forming of two entities, the first being Jameson Equipment (Trading) Limited, known as JET throughout the industry, which sold the foam machinery and Jameson Equipment Limited which sold the phosphates.

The early 1950’s was actually the birth of the foam industry and Jameson worked closely with the pioneers of this fledgling industry, working with British Vita in the UK who were one of the first foam manufacturers and also working with Mac. A. King who was one of the first foam converters in the UK.

In 1957, Ralph Borchard, the stepson of Michael Mayer, joined the company and took over the responsibilities for the machine side of the business. His background was ideal for the company in that he was an engineer from Leeds University and before joining the company had been a development engineer for Frigidaire, a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation.

Jameson continued to grow and expand its’ areas of expertise and this growth led to a larger volume of business which required larger premises. In the latter part of the 1950’s, the company re-located to 14 Sun Street in London.

Since 1954, JET has represented Albrecht Baumer and Grauff from Germany. This alliance has led to a long-term professional association, which still continues to this day. Under the direction of Ralph Borchard, JET began to represent more companies allied with the foam and furniture industries, providing our customers with more diverse and technically advanced choices.

The 1960’s saw exciting changes within the foam industry as polyurethane foam was introduced to the market place. This new product revolutionized the bedding and upholstery industries and Jameson was at the forefront of both, based on their long-term involvement with foam machinery and manufacturers.

Continued growth and expansion once again dictated a requirement for larger premises and in the 1970’s, the company re-located to Woodside Place, Abbey Manufacturing Estate in Alperton, Wembley. This move allowed the company to take advantage of a new modern factory and additional office space that facilitated the rapid growth of the company.

On January 1st, 1974, the company split into two totally separate entities. Jameson Equipment Limited, under the direction of Michael Mayer, continued to supply chemicals to the food industry. Ralph Borchard founded Apropa Machinery Limited, which took over the sole distribution of equipment to the foam industry and all allied industries. Both companies remained at the Abbey Manufacturing Estate; however, they both moved to new, more suitable offices within the same Estate.

In 1976, Ralph’s son, Jonathan joined Apropa and immediately departed for Germany where he began working for Albrecht Baumer for a period of 6 months. During this period, Jonathan learned not only the language but also the details of the foam machinery manufacturing business. This knowledge would serve Jonathan very well in his future endeavours for Apropa.

In 1986, at age 60, Ralph Borchard died after a short illness. This unexpected turn of events left Jonathan as the Managing Director of the company. Jonathan continues to this day as the Managing Director providing direction to the company and interacting with our wide range of customers.

In 1990, Jonathan moved the company to its’ present location in Wembley Park.

In 1994, Jonathan’s brother Terence joined the company after having spent many years building a chain of high quality dry cleaning shops throughout London. He brought to the business a wealth of business experiences that have been instrumental in continuing the company’s growth and development. In addition to his regular duties with the company, Terence also took over the company’s technological areas ensuring a seamless transition to state of the art technology in Information Technology management.

Over the last few years, Terence has also been involved in the company’s diversification efforts. Through his foresight, the company has allied itself with a new representation for a company called Croma of France. This company produces a range of hot wire CNC machines for Expanded Polystyrene and Apropa now also supplies special coatings for Polystyrene that enables the material to be weatherproof and have other uses.

Apropa Machinery Limited has now commenced the next fifty years of our business life. We have gotten this far through hard work, superior products, dedication and loyalty to our valued customers and integrity in the way we conduct our business. We look forward to continuing our business relationships with our large list of satisfied customers and gaining new customers who will appreciate our work ethic and the way we have always maintained our company on the cutting edge of current technology.


All website content is the property of: Apropa Machinery Limited. ©2007	1a Elmside Road Wembley Park Middlesex HA9 8JB Tel: 020 8902 1114 Fax: 020 8902 1115