Wm Clark and Son (Parkgate) Forestry Catalogue
Former sales catalogue circa 1980 for Forestry Ploughs courtesy of Douglas Clark the third generation member of the Clark family to manage the Parkgate business.
The ploughs and other cultivation equipment manufactured by his father used the length and breadth of UK were instrumental in the successful establishment of very large tracts of forest some of which were established on what was very difficult and hostile conditions for tree growth.
The full catalogue is shown in the PDF
Below is a short version of the Clark forestry history provided by Douglas.
Wm Clark and Son Company History
Wm Clark and Son was founded in 1924 by the late William Clark, as a blacksmith and farrier on the same site we occupy today at Parkgate. Our association with the forestry industry goes back as far as then, with the repair of forest cultivation spades and hand tools, and the shoeing of forestry horses.
In the 1940's, William Clark's son, Murray began to design and manufacture a wide range of forest cultivation ploughs, working closely with the UK Forestry Commission. Over 2000 ploughs were sold world-wide, cultivating ground for tree planting from Iceland to Africa, Canada to Scandinavia. A large number of the UK established forests were initially cultivated with Clark ploughs. Clark also developed deep working ploughs for various specialist applications such as salt ridging in Iraq, exploring for oil in Australia, irrigation in Africa and sub sea cable trenching around the UK coastline.
In the early 1980's, the decline in bare ground tree planting in the UK, along with the changes in cultivation techniques in general, resulted in the degeneration of plough manufacturing. For many years Wm Clark and Son had been involved with the harvesting of timber, with the manufacture of winch hooks, fittings and hand tools, along with the repair of forest harvesting machinery. This was therefore a natural diversification for Douglas Clark, Murray's son, to move the company into the sale and manufacture of specialised Timber Harvesting Equipment.
Over the following years Wm Clark and Son secured the dealerships of many of the world's leading Forestry Equipment manufacturers, and now occupy a leading position in the UK forest industry, as well as designing a range of specialist equipment alongside an advanced service and repair facility
William Clark and Son (Parkgate) Ltd, 1924 - 2009
Groups: Tractors Ploughs and Drainage Machines