“If you want to know where you are going,
you need to appreciate where you came from.”
DAVID BALL CHAIRMAN
1960’s
The ambitious Ray Ball and Ray Stokes met each other as salesmen working in the same territory for Xpelair and Woods of Colchester respectively. As kindred business spirits, it wasn’t long before they became good friends both in and out of work – putting them on a path to becoming our founders.
Ray Ball and Ray Stokes used their sales and engineering background to create the idea for a low-cost stackable and stockable glass fibre roof extract unit. When Ray Stokes presented the idea to his employers, they rejected it saying: “Young man, you are not paid to come up with ideas, you are paid to sell.”
1970's
With £130 in cash, a second mortgage, and £650 from the sale of his Rolls Royce, Ray Ball proposed a business partnership to Ray Stokes to found Roof Units Ltd to enable them to sell their new product.
Just two years after Roof Units Ltd had been founded, the need for storage space and a home base had intensified, leading them to buy a unit in Dudley, West Midlands.
1980’s
Roof Units Ltd became Roof Units (Group) Ltd. Admittedly, it wasn’t the biggest name change – but it signified the continued growth and acknowledged the company structure.
During the late 80’s, Roof Units Group started to build a relationship with Elta Fans Ltd, founded by Roger Crook and John Snape, which went on to becoming one of Elta Group’s biggest brands.
Early 1990’s
The 90’s was a successful decade of acquiring other companies to join the group, including the acquisition of Elta Fans Ltd in 1994. Roof Units Group was also renamed to Air Movement group, signifying the expansion of product offering.
1996
This was the year that everything changed. In 1996, with an annual turnover exceeding £60million and over 400 employees, Air Movement Group was sold to Smiths Group. As part of the multi-million pound deal, Ray Ball and his son David Ball, retained two businesses, including Elta Fans Ltd, which marked the beginning of Elta Group.
Late 1990’s
With the inception of Elta Group Ltd in 1996, things went from strength to strength. Significant investments were made to acquire international businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, expanding the Group’s operations across 3 continents.
Amongst these acquisitions was Fantech, industry leader in fans and acoustic technology based in Australia, who were a part of the group until 2024. Founded in 1973, the company’s passion and commitment to superior product quality and service has made it Australia’s foremost ventilation business.
1999
Fantech Ventilation was founded in Dublin as a representative for Elta Fans’ Select range of products, along with a huge range of other products such as including fans, grilles, ducting, diffusers, dampers from industry leading brands.
2003
A significant company was added to Elta Group: Hydor. Starting its own story back in 1963, Hydor’s distinctive brand and products enriched our offering considerably, expanding our markets to include agriculture.
2005
Elta Fans was set up in Malaysia due to market demand, meaning Elta Group was now operating across 4 continents. Two years later, the business moved to a new 30,000sqft factory in Kota Kemuning, adding fabrication works to the existing production activities.
2011
Elta Group acquired an Italian company called Aerauliqa, which means ‘the science of airflow’. The funny thing is that, in Italian, it should be spelled ‘Aeraulica’, but due to a handwriting error it became Aerauliqa, and the name stuck. In 2012, they developed a unique bladelet impeller – the most efficient small axial impeller around at the time. Aerauliqa continue to produce high quality residential ventilation products for the group and beyond.
2012
In 2012, Duct Products in Northern Ireland was acquired, increasing Elta Group’s European presence.
2015
Continuing the acquisition trend, Bowden and Knights Livestock Services, market leaders in poultry health and consumables, was acquired in 2015. Bowden & Knights was founded in 2003 by Mike Bowden and Sarah Knights on the understanding that advice should be honest, freely given, independent, and based on practical hands-on experience – not corporate goals.
2016
Elta Trade was set up in Malaysia to support customers with residential products. The range is available through an exclusive network of distributors to bring cutting edge, powerful solutions to homes.
Elta Group acquired Acoustica, providing leading noise control solutions to the HVAC market, based in Colchester, UK.
2018
Farmtech Services was acquired to sit alongside the group’s other agricultural businesses. Formed in 2003 by William and Magdelena Keown-Boyd, FarmTech Services is a brand that is proud to offer expertise in all aspects of poultry hygiene, poultry health, feeding, drinking and ventilation.
In addition to Farmtech, another agricultural business was acquired in 2018- Animal Aids. Animal Aids believes that farmers should have ready access, not just to products and services that they need, but also the practical knowledge and expertise to get the best from them. This remains as important today as when the business began in the 1960s.
Elta Fans India was born to offer Elta Fans products across the region. The India business expanded to four sites across the country in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.
2019
Smooth-Air, international leaders in air movement, filtration and distribution was acquired. Based in New Zealand, Smooth Air has operated as a leading ventilation company in the New Zealand market with offices located in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.
2020
Elta Group’s first ecommerce business, All Agri, was introduced as a way to give farmers a break from the stress of staying on top of farm requirements. The online shop covers areas such as consumables, pest control, ventilation and animal health.
2023
Colair was acquired, strengthening our presence in the Australasia region with a recognised leader in Air Transfer Solutions, Air Handling Units, Fan Coil Units, and Energy Recovery Ventilators.
Elta Trade was launched in the UK, specialising in residential ventilation that is available to electricians, plumbers, homeowners, and more, through electrical wholesalers. The fans and ventilation products are developed and manufactured in our own manufacturing facilities located across the UK and beyond.
2024
Elta Fans celebrated its 50th anniversary by rebranding to Elta. This rebrands signifies the expansion of a product portfolio that includes more than just fans but expansive air movement solutions. Duct Products, Fantech Ventilation, and Acoustica also rebrand to Elta.
Air Movement Supplies in Dublin, Ireland was acquired. With AMS joining the group, we are set to significantly increase our distribution network across the Republic of Ireland, allowing us to better serve customers, strengthen our product range, and boost production capabilities.