Going underground

J J Hardy & Sons has supplied precision engineered components to Transport for London (TfL)’s world-famous London Underground since the late 1980s.

The transport operator’s first encounter with the company took place when procuring energy-absorbing D-Bolts during the restoration of some of its main rolling stock.

The urgent need for the bolts meant London Underground Limited (LUL) – which operates the underground for TfL – required a British supplier which could meet its ‘just-in-time’ requirements while meeting the most stringent of standards.

Andy’s late father, Tom, was managing director at the time and read an article in the Evening Standard around LUL’s struggles sourcing the parts and its desperate need for a UK supplier, and the rest, as they say, is history.

J J Hardy & Sons was tasked with supplying precision D-Bolts to the operator and the companies have seen their working relationship expand in tandem with each extension of the London Underground since.

In fact, the company produced a batch of D-Bolts as recently as 2022, marking over 30-years in the pair’s fruitful working relationship.