Modernising the Story of a 200-Year-Old Steel Stockholder
A business that has traded since 1810 has earned the right to a few assumptions — but the buyers it serves today did not grow up with its name. John W. Laycock is one of the oldest steel service providers in the country, and one of the longest-established firms in Keighley. They came to Nine Stones to bring a two-century reputation up to date for buyers who now start their search online.
The Challenge
Established in 1810, John W. Laycock Ltd holds extensive stocks of general steels and supplies them into construction, manufacturing, engineering, fabrication, agriculture and local authorities. Alongside stock it offers next-day delivery, cutting, drilling, de-burring, painting, profiling, fabrication and research and consultancy — a full service for customers who need steel ready to use, not just delivered.
The challenge is one many long-established manufacturers share. The breadth of service was not obvious online; buyers increasingly research and shortlist suppliers digitally; and the business needed to look as capable and modern as the operation actually is.
Heritage Without the Cobwebs
A messaging workshop helped us strike the balance: honouring 200 years of history while speaking plainly to today's buyer. Longevity became a proof point — evidence of reliability — rather than a reason to feel dated.
Putting the Full Service on the Page
We rewrote the website to surface the value-added services that set Laycock apart — cutting, profiling, fabrication and the rest — so a buyer can see, at a glance, that this is steel ready to use. SEO content was built around the terms those buyers actually search, helping a heritage name get found in a digital-first market.
The Result
Laycock now has a website that carries its history with confidence and makes its full capability easy to find — equipping one of Britain's oldest steel firms to win work from buyers who start, and increasingly finish, their search online.
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