Grafton happy in new home

Narrowboats chugging lazily along the calm waters of the Grand Union Canal on one side mixed with the intermittent whistle of superfast modern intercity locos on the other is home for Grafton Optical but it also makes a neat narrative for the Hertfordshire instrument company.

Grafton has built its reputation as a supplier of optical equipment since 1982, maintaining and calibrating the everyday equipment optical practices need for routine work while also bringing exciting new developments to the market. It had been in its former home for 11 years expanding there is 2006 to offer better services and more customer interaction.

Last year, Grafton, headed by MD Brian Bowles, started its reluctant search for new premises when it was served time on its Watford HQ. Bowles, in his own inimitable style, admits that the search was not welcome and is characteristically candid about the reason behind the move. ‘The truth is the landlord wanted to redevelop,’ he says. Although Bowles now admits the unit was in need of investment a move was not top of his list of priorities. He was resigned to the fact that to fight the move would merely have delayed the agony, so the search for a new base began. ‘That meant looking around the area for a new home but we struggled to find somewhere in Watford. Also in this climate we were keen to find somewhere cost-effective,’ he says.