History
In the 1960`s George Cowie, a university lecturer in physical chemistry became interested in the exceptional chemical properties of PTFE. This interest led George to design and develop a wide variety of PTFE laboratory equipment which he manufactured using machines he also designed himself. This enthusiasm, coupled with his knowledge of chemistry, love of innovation and business acumen eventually resulted in the company manufacturing and selling PTFE laboratory equipment to a worldwide market and creating the COWIE brand. George was always an advocate of continually experimenting, aiming higher and refusing to accept traditional limitations. However, if you ever asked George how he grew the business to the successful company it is now, he would always answer “Good luck and ignorance!”
The company has expanded over the years, moving a few times to increase its capacity and is now located in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough. We are proud to say we manufacture in the North East area of England and have done since 1965.
In 2003 Cowie opened a sales and distribution outlet in Vineland, New Jersey to serve the US market. This has been highly successful thus we had to move premises to expand and we are now located in New Castle, Delaware.
2025 is a milestone year for Cowie having been in business for 60 years.
We are a leading manufacturer of PTFE laboratory equipment, who support our products with a high level of engineering and technical expertise. Not only do we offer a wide range of standard PTFE laboratory equipment but we manufacture custom items to client-specific requirements in PTFE and other engineered plastics.
Today we have a very experienced workforce with many long serving members of staff providing a wealth of experience and knowledge. We promote training and invest in our loyal employees. Having started as a family-owned company, we very much run the company with a family ethos and have previously and still have more than one generation of families working at Cowie.
We are pleased to be able to share the ongoing success of the company by giving regular donations to charities and community projects in the local area.