The engineer,
visionary and founder of Hayter Ltd., Douglas Hayter, is being awarded a blue
plaque in recognition of his contributions to the local area through his
lawnmower manufacturing business, founded in Bishop’s Stortford in 1946.
The official unveiling
of the plaque will take place at Hayter’s former residence at Granary Cottage,
30 Mulberry Green, Old Harlow, on Friday 5 April, at 2pm by Harlow MP Robert
Halfon.
Family and friends
will be in attendance to witness the achievement bestowed by the Harlow Civic
Society and its head, former Labour MP Stan Newens.
“We are immensely
proud to be a part of the unveiling of the blue plaque in honour of Douglas
Hayter’s achievements. He was a great visionary and business man who
contributed a lot to the local community in and around Old Harlow and Bishop’s
Stortford,” said Raghu Das, Managing Director EMEA, at Hayter.
Susan Hayter had this
to say around her husband’s award: “I am thrilled that even now, 19 years after
Douglas’ death, the Harlow Civic Society has decided to honour Douglas’
achievements with this plaque. It is fantastic to see that his accomplishments
as an inventor and pioneer are being recognised. He was a very creative man and
his dyslexia fuelled his lateral thinking. I would sometimes find drawings of
his latest ideas on the most random things.”
Douglas Hayter was
born in Bishop’s Stortford in 1914 where he lived before starting his working
career. After working a few different jobs, he eventually moved into the
building trade and set up his own business in 1937. During the war years, he
was employed helping the war effort through repairing and constructing farm
buildings, as well as maintaining and servicing farm machinery. He was also
working on ministry projects.
His venture into grass
cutting machinery began in the 1940s when he was cutting grass around his
drying timber stacks. Douglas borrowed a cutter bar mower from a friend, but
found the process frustrating and slow. To make the experience easier, he
combined the functionality of the historical horse-drawn rotary mower with the
power of a two-stroke engine – the birth of the first Hayter Motor Scythe. The
invention quickly gained admiration and Douglas started receiving requests for
more machines. In 1946, the Motor Scythe went into full production and Hayter
became incorporated as a limited company.
In the years that
followed, the business developed several professional and domestic mowers such
as the Hayterette and the Hayter Harrier rear-roller striping mower, today
synonymous with the Hayter brand. In 1960, Hayter’s company received the Royal
Warrant for the supply of machinery to HM Queen Elizabeth II – an honour still
retained to this day. It was around this time that Mr. Hayter and his wife took
up residence in Old Harlow, whilst working hard to sell the company’s products
internationally. At one stage, Mr. Hayter was selling his products in 110
countries.
During his career, Mr.
Hayter also developed several successful machines and devices outside of
grounds care, one of which was a range of portable welders known as the Mighty
Midgets. Many of these were supplied to the Ministry of Defence, as well as internationally.
Douglas focused on
building up the Hayter business in the local area, where he remained a
significant influence until his passing in 2000.
Hayter Ltd. Has been
designing and manufacturing mowers in its factory in Bishop’s Stortford until
this day.
