Peter Woodhouse has been an agricultural engineer all his working life, serving his apprenticeship at WCF in Bootle Station before leaving to set up his own company, Peter Woodhouse & Co.
The company started in 1985, with Peter working by himself from a small barn (rented from Mr Bob Cornthwaite), which was converted, into a workshop, office and stores. The business grew steadily over the next ten years, repairing and selling all types of tractor and farm machinery, both new and second hand.
When West Cumberland Farmers closed, and the building was put up for sale, Peter decided to take the plunge and purchase it, as they had out grown their rented premises and needed somewhere bigger and this was ideally placed as it was located close to home. It was a big move both financially and physically, with the WCF unit being 10,000 square feet almost ten times the size of the old premises.