contemporaries went down the pit , he ’ d landed an apprenticeship with Westool , at St Helen Auckland , studied electrical engineering at college , spent “ thousands of hours ” learning about refrigeration , and qualified as a draughtsman at 21 .
Two years later , he married Margaret , who ’ d worked on the Westool production line , and they had two daughters , Pamela and Amanda .
A move south followed , to the Science Research Council ’ s High Energy Laboratory in Oxfordshire , where his reputation as an innovator grew . He returned to the North-East to join Westair Dynamics as a sales application engineer , but it was only a couple of years before he set up his own business .
“ I met a guy who ran a plant hire company in Derby and needed dehumidifiers . I designed one on a bit of paper , had it made , and delivered eight . He asked for another eight , and within a year we ’ d delivered 70 .”
Ebac – derived from Elliott Brothers Air Control – was born , and the milestones have come thick and fast ever since . The company moved to West Auckland in 1974 and , in little more than a decade , Ebac was producing the UK ’ s best-selling dehumidifier .
John was awarded the MBE for services to business in 1988 , but he was only just getting going . In 1992 , Ebac supplied water cooling systems for field hospitals in the Gulf War , before entering the European watercooler market the following year .
Dehumidifiers were supplied for the Channel Tunnel , and an air-conditioning system designed for the London Underground ’ s Jubilee Line .
Ebac launched its first domestic water cooler in 2000 and moved to Aycliffe Business Park in 2010 . Two years later , John made the surprise announcement that the company would be handed over to the Ebac Community Trust , meaning it can ’ t ever be sold , and surplus profits are invested back into community groups .
“ I met a guy who ran a plant hire company in Derby and needed dehumidifiers . I designed one on a bit of paper , had it made , and delivered eight . He asked for another eight , and within a year
we ’ d delivered 70 .”
– John Elliott