Ralph Young started in business in the early 1950s in Flitwick, Bedfordshire, manufacturing breeze blocks.

A short while later he bought some land in Stanbridge Road, Leighton Buzzard and moved production there. It was on this land that the original Youngs Industrial Estate was built in the late 1960s.

By the late 1950s the company had grown to include plant hire and the supply of sand and gravel. In the early 1960s Ralph bought 130 acres (52 hectares) of gravel bearing land in Aldermaston, Berkshire, which had previously been used as a timber yard. Young (Aldermaston) Developments Ltd was formed in 1963 and extracted the gravel until the late 1970s. During this time a large area of concrete was laid down for the manufacture of concrete blocks. In the early 1980s Planning Permission was granted for light industrial units to be built on this area. This was the beginning of Youngs Industrial Estate, Aldermaston.

By this time, Ralph’s eldest son, Robert and his youngest son, Andrew had both become directors, having worked through the company learning all aspects of its operations. Youngs was now very much a family business.

Robert’s son, Roy, joined the company in 1995 as the Company Accountant, working alongside Robert and Andrew to continue the family business tradition. In 2001 he was appointed Company Secretary.

Much of the land where gravel extraction had taken place was set aside under an agreement with the District Council and restored by the company. In later years Youngs, in conjunction with the Pang & Kennet Valley Countryside Project, created Paices Wood Country Parkland. The seven lakes in the valley running through the parkland provide fishing for Carp, Roach, Tench and Pike.

In 1996 a phased re-development commenced on the Leighton Buzzard estate with all the old industrial units being demolished and replaced with modern units. This re-development was completed at the end of September 2006. At the Aldermaston estate Youngs are also undertaking modernisation and are replacing some of the older buildings with new units. The first block was completed in October 2006, with a second block due to be built later on in 2007.

Units on both estates are aimed towards starter and small businesses, but several of the tenants, wishing to remain on site, have taken on extra units as they have expanded.

Contact us to see how we can accommodate you now.