About Us

After starting work at 12 sweeping up in the offices of a timber merchant, and working through the ranks to become a timber salesman, in the early 1920’s James Rowlinson started out in business on his own account as a Timber Sales Agent.

In 1926 he formed James Rowlinson & Sons, operating from Trafford Park, initially importing and distributing timber then also manufacturing crates and packing cases.

In the early 1940’s Rowlinson’s bought a sawmill in Willaston near Crewe, and continued to expand on that site with packaging work.

In 1966 James’ son Norman Rowlinson was running the business and invested in a wire-bound packaging machine also buying 20 acres of an ex-RAF aerodrome at Wardle to use for the packaging manufacturing business.

In the late 1970’s the growing use of containerisation begin to erode the wooden crate trade, and so the business started manufacturing garden sheds. As the DIY market grew through the 1980’s Rowlinson’s developed from its knowledge of timber importing into importing garden furniture initially from South Africa then Asia.

In this period Norman’s sons Jimmy (who is now Chairman) and David Rowlinson had both joined the business.

In 1994, the group set up Baltic Connexions in Estonia as a sourcing company for Baltic and Russian timber. This business also started making bedding components then components for garden buildings before finally becoming a garden buildings manufacturer supplying markets across Europe.

Rowlinson Garden Products business had moved to a site in Crewe, but then moved back to Wardle in 2003, with the site in Crewe being let out with the Swansway Motor Group the main tenant.

In 2013 Alexandra Retail commenced trading as an internet retail garden products business, run by Will Rowlinson – Jimmy’s son and the fourth generation Rowlinsons in the business