Leading UK ventilation company Vent-Axia recently celebrated 90 years of British manufacturing and innovation.
The company marked the milestone with a commemorative tree planting at Crawter’s Brook People’s Park in Manor Royal, Crawley, close to its headquarters.
On Thursday 15 October, a Fastigiate Oak was planted by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, John Barclay, DL, as part of the anniversary celebrations attended by the Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Marion Ayling, Peter Lamb MP for Crawley, Steve Sawyer, executive director of the Manor Royal BID and representatives from the Crawley Museum.
Founded in 1936 by Joe Akester, inventor of the world’s first electrically-operated window fan, Vent-Axia has a long history of British engineering and product innovation. Its heritage includes supplying ventilation to Sir Winston Churchill for his Chartwell home in 1945. Today, the company continues to build on its British manufacturing heritage, developing ventilation solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications.
A lasting legacy
To mark its 90th anniversary, Vent-Axia also funded a new planting scheme at Crawter’s Brook, in collaboration with the Manor Royal BID, helping to enhance biodiversity and create a lasting legacy for the local community. Students from Crawley College also produced an engraved commemorative oak plaque to mark Vent-Axia’s 90th Anniversary tree planting at Crawter’s Brook People’s Park.
“We are delighted to be celebrating our 90th anniversary at Vent-Axia. From Joe Akester’s invention of the world’s first electrically-operated window fan in 1936 to the ventilation solutions we develop today, innovation has always been at the heart of our business. We are very proud of our British manufacturing heritage, and it is particularly fitting to mark this milestone by supporting a project that will benefit the local environment and community of Manor Royal that has been home to our HQ for nearly 70 years. As we celebrate 90 years of achievement, we look forward to continuing to innovate and develop ventilation solutions that improve the environments in which we live and work,” said Graham Sanders, managing director at Vent-Axia.
Vent-Axia’s commitment to innovation continues today with a raft of award-winning ventilation solutions building on nine decades of British engineering expertise. Most recently, the company’s Lo-Carbon PureAir Cleanse dMEV won ‘Domestic Ventilation Product of the Year’ at the HVR Awards.
Sustainability at the heart of the business
Sustainability is also central to Vent-Axia’s future, with circular economy principles embedded in its manufacturing approach. The company won the BEAMA Net Zero Collaboration Award for its partnership with AO, transforming recycled fridge plastic into ventilation products and also received the ‘Low Carbon Impact Award’ at the H&V News Awards. Manufacturing with recycled plastic has reduced the carbon footprint of Vent-Axia’s products by up to 40%, while the partnership with AO helps keep recycled materials within the UK circular economy, reducing resource use and associated carbon emissions. Meanwhile, Vent-Axia aims to achieve Net Zero by 2040, a decade ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 target.
Peter Lamb MP for Crawley presented Vent-Axia with a framed copy of Early Day Motion 918 tabled in the House of Commons on 12 October 2026, congratulating the company on its 90th anniversary. The motion recognised Vent-Axia’s proud history as a leading British Manufacturer of ventilation solutions, its longstanding connection to Crawley and its contribution to the local economy through skilled employment, investment and innovation.
Following the tree planting, guests returned to Vent-Axia’s headquarters, where the Vice Lord-Lieutenant proposed a toast to the company’s 90 years of British manufacturing and innovation.
