The original company was formed in 1857 in Louth as a foundry business, and horse-drawn ploughs were one of the first products to be made in premises next to the Cattle Market.
Ten years later, the company’s award-winning light draught ploughs were well known in north-east Lincolnshire and the foundry was producing iron castings for a wide range of applications. The foundry business was later sold, but the family undertook various other business activities over the years to include motor vehicle engineering, estate management work, livestock auctioneering, property development, computer software, caravan manufacture, and property conservation and restoration.
In 2000, various family interests were amalgamated into a new company, proud to once again bear the original name of J. Hodgson & Sons Ltd.