The company started on the side of the Brayford Pool in Lincoln, an area then renowned for its industry. Using the river Witham to transport raw materials, the business started off as the Witham Oil & Candle Company making bicycle oils, candles and carbide for local businesses.

As the demand for machinery and industrialisation grew and transport evolved from horse and cart and steam power, to vans, tractors and cars, so the business expanded. Its product range changed with the times to make lubricants and greases for engines and a wide variety of the new machinery and equipment being installed in a whole range of local industries.

A few years later, Albert was joined by his two sons Arthur and George, as two young boys. They ran the business but needing to support customers and grow the business further, Les Bottom came to work for the company as a sales person. This is the current Managing Director - Nigel Bottom’s grandfather.

As the products and services of the company continued to expand, a new sales person was needed and so Les’s son Geoff Bottom, aged 15, joined his father in the business in 1965.

In 1952, the company moved premises from the original site on the Brayford Pool to Webb Street in Lincoln and there the company started its path to further success. Agriculture was changing and needed oils and greases for tractors, combines, sprayers and haulage to transport the produce. This became one of Witham’s specialisms.

In 1968, the third generation of the Smith family joined Witham Oil and Grease. Alan Smith was a chemist and looked after the technical and financial side of the business. Geoff Bottom was responsible for customers and sales and together they developed the company expanding further into the heartland of East Anglia. Over the next few years, they employed many hard working and loyal team members, some of which are still working at the Lincoln factory today.

By 1987, the Webb street premises was not large enough to cope with the growth of the business, so the company moved to our current site on Outer Circle Road in Lincoln. The whole factory was moved by the team, our own lorries and a lot of blood, sweat and tears!

Perhaps one of our Company’s most proud moments is when, in 1991 we were appointed the Royal Warrant to HM The Queen. The Appointment was only the start of a magical journey which has culminated in us supplying lubricants and paints for the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, as well as other connected properties, estates and farm land.

The Royal Warrant helps underline our company’s commitment to maintaining and building its reputation as producers of the finest quality lubricants and paints and suppliers of excellence.

In 1993, we purchased a new company called Eastern Counties Lubricants Ltd in Soham, Cambridgeshire. This was the start of the Witham Group of companies. Soham now assisted in the distribution and expansion of our products in East Anglia and the Midlands and developed as a vital trade depot over the years ahead.

Only a few years after Soham was acquired, a successful paint manufacturing business was also purchased in Lowestoft. United Paints Ltd helped with the product offering to our existing customers as paints and coatings were a complimentary need of businesses with machinery and vehicles. Specialist paint expertise was acquired and the addition of a new distribution depot on the east coast was an invaluable addition to the Witham Group.

With the retirement of Geoff and Alan, the third generation of the Bottom family took on the reigns with Nigel Bottom becoming Managing Director and the 4th generation of the Smith family continued in the business with Dominic Smith joining as a blending specialist and a whole new Management Team for operations, finance, marketing and sales to further lead the way in Witham’s success.

With Soham growing rapidly, the depot soon outgrew its premises and so we moved to a new address on Regal Drive in Soham. With a brand new large trade shop and room for more stock and storage, this location serviced our expanding customer base throughout Cambridgeshire and the Midlands.

Witham Group were most proud to be involved in the origination of the VLS (Verification of Lubricant Specifications). As a new subsidiary of the United Kingdom Lubricant Association (UKLA) the VLS provides a credible and trusted means to verify lubricant specifications. Today this organisation helps improve and monitor the quality of lubricant products in the UK market, tackles false claims and maintains high standards for the end user and the industry as a whole. Witham Group’s Managing Director, Nigel Bottom joined the Board & Supervisory Committee of the VLS in 2010 and is proud to be a member of this association.

Immensely proud to be chosen as the UK Importer and Distributor of the world renowned Motul Automotive Products, 2015 saw the exciting launch of our new Motorsport brand. We love all things racing and cars and became heavily involved in supplying and supporting race teams, engine manufacturers, garages, workshops and dealerships , car clubs, drivers and teams with lubricant expertise and quality products

The cost and environmental impact of traditional lubricant manufacturing has for many years been huge. Witham Group wanted to change this and developed the new unique concept of Blendtek, a flexible blending solution using ultra sound technology and solar panels. This special technique improves the speed of product blending, slashes normal gas and electricity energy consumption and is totally scalable to suit manufacturer’s requirements. We are proud that our innovation is now being marketed across the world to other lubricant blenders so helping create an unprecedented carbon neutral blending process and sustainable legacy to the global lubricant Industry.

We were very proud in June 2021 to hold our company’s 100^th Annual General Meeting at Lincoln, with the Board of Directors congratulating the business on reaching this amazing milestone. The meeting was both in person and online to account for COVID restrictions.

It would have been hard to imagine 100 years ago, that technology would allow team members to join a meeting without being there!. The AGM reviewed all aspects of the Group’s activities and successes as well as concentrating on the current challenges at all three depots.

Nigel our MD welcomed everyone to the meeting and said:
'Who would have thought a century ago, when the first generation of Smith family thought to have a go and set up our original business Witham Oil and Candle Company in 1921, that the business would then transfer to the success custodianship of Alan Smith and Geoff Bottom for 40 years, and then all the current Directors and Teams now involved across all three depots would see Witham Group grow to what it is today? I am so proud fo the business so here is a BIG CHEERS TO TEAM WITHAM GROUP – for those both now and those from yesteryear.'

We were honoured in July 2023 to receive a Royal visit by HRH Duke of Gloucester, who had heard about our company’s milestone in business but also wanted to hear more about our Blendtek blending process and all our latest developments. What an honour for the company.

We are thrilled to have reached over a century in business and there is so much for the Witham Group to look forward to in the coming years. We remain traditional in terms of our core values of putting our people and our customers first and yet we remain committed to innovation with existing product development, environmental breakthroughs, and technology advances as we face the challenges of our industry and the changing world around us.

We also will always ensure that the cornerstones of our business, which are looking after our customers, our teams and our community, and ensuring all our products are made to the highest of standards, will always be at the very heart of what we do, both now, and long into the exciting future ahead.