Some things still survive from 1829 when the first university boat race was contested at Henley-on-Thames (Oxford won) and the Metropolitan Police Force was established by Sir Robert Peel, who is locally commemorated by Peel Park at Undercliffe.

The dawn of the modern industrial era saw George Stephenson’s steam locomotive, The Rocket, defeat John Ericsson’s Novelty in trials held near Liverpool.

Closer to home it was also the year that William Henry Clarke started his engineering business in Bradford. The legacy of that original machine shop continues today and is headed by the founder’s great-grandson – another William Henry Clarke.

The T & W H Clarke machine tool business is now part of the three-pronged Shipley-based Partline group which includes engineering, sales and distribution of automotive parts and Aire Erosion, a leading Pudsey-based specialist machining, cutting and precision drilling companies, which was acquired in 2009.

While proud of the his family’s long industrial heritage, Willie Clarke’s focus is very much on the future.

While the Partline distribution division, run by his sons William junior and Richard, which specialises in parts for the bus and coach sector, has gone from strength to strength – and recently took over supplier company Delta Engineering Services at Nostell Priory to gain access to the US market – the engineering operation had suffered from a flow of work away from the UK.

“It was a sign of the times that the distribution business which sells spare parts around the world has seen sales go through the roof. It has become the biggest part of the business. It’s sad in a way that shopkeeping has overtaken manufacturing, but it provides us with the means to develop our overall operations,” said Willie, who has worked at the business from the age of 14.

That development involves reinventing the manufacturing operation from a volume producer of parts for the automotive sector. Partline Engineering, in common with many other firms, saw its market invaded by cheaper foreign producers, especially from the Far East.

So, the emphasis has switched from run-of-the-mill machining work to lower-volume higher-specification projects. It’s a move that requires commitment, investment, new skills and the ability to gain official accreditation to supply customers in precision industries such as aerospace.

To enable that to happen, Partline invested around £500,000 in 2013 in a number of new computer-controlled machining centres and is planning to buy two more machines this spring.

The transformation of its manufacturing operation has also created a small number of jobs at the company whose total workforce is around 50 – and two more skilled people will be required once the latest kit is installed.

“While as a traditional Yorkshireman I don’t spend money rashly, the significant investment we have made in new machinery is vital for us to change the scope of the business and be able to take on work for more technical and precision projects.

“We succeeded in getting a grant for one of the machines as we were creating new jobs with the help of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, who were brilliant. They guided us through the application process and made it painless,” Willie said.

Partline’s new approach has seen it win contracts for nuclear pressure values, a bearing housing for a satellite and heavy duty gears. While the company’s direct customers are UK-based, most of them are exporters so Partline’s work ends up across the globe.

Steve Hoare, engineering sales manager, who joined the firm four years ago but had known it both as a customer and a supplier for around 20 years, is the man responsible for finding new business.

He said: “Transforming the engineering business into a higher-spec operation means that, instead of doing a bit of machining on a lot of components we do higher-class machining to fewer components. We’ve still got much to do to develop new markets but we’ve had our successes as well.”

A recent blow was coming second to provide large electric motor casings for giant wheeled quarry shovels for use in the United States after losing out on price to a Chinese supplier.

In order to bid for the contract, Partline engineers had to produce prototypes and get into pre-production – a cost the firm must carry. But Steve is philosophical that the work done will stand the business in good stead for future tenders and has extended its capabilities.

“One of the issues we face is that many companies buy on price from Chinese suppliers and give them 12 months’ notice of the specification, volumes and the price they are prepared to pay, whereas we’re not given that luxury.

“If we were treated similarly I’m sure that once other costs, such as transportation, were taken into account, we would be somewhere near on price. Our quality is certainly guaranteed. All we ask is for a level playing field.

“We’re still on a learning curve and the business overall will benefit from that experience and the work we had to do. Also, we’ve been named as second supplier to that customer which we’ve worked for before, for that job, so maybe all is not lost.”

Partline’s turnover – led by the distribution business – has risen by 23 per cent to around £12 million in the past couple of years. The aim is to boost the engineering division’s £2 million contribution At Aire Erosion, £1 million has been spent on new equipment to help it break into new markets. Its clients have included space agency NASA in the United States and the firm works with specialist metals such as titanium, super duplex and inconel.

Willie Clarke believes achieving accreditation for aerospace work could be the platform for significant growth by attracting significant new business.

“We’re looking to physically expand the manufacturing operation but there is nothing concrete yet. It could involve building a new factory in Pudsey or combining Air Erosion and Partline Engineering on another site in Bradford close to the motorway,” he said.

For the time being, Partline remains based at Dockfield Road – but the dream is alive.