How it started
The beginning
James Irlam & Sons Ltd was founded by James Irlam in the 1940s in Manchester. Following the development of Manchester Airport, the business relocated to Chelford, Cheshire. The business transported milk churns to Manchester dairies, and returned with corn supplies for local farms.
Ken Irlam takes over
His son, Ken Irlam, later took over the running of the firm. In 1964 the firm operated from just one truck.
Passing to the grandsons
The business later passed to Ken Irlam's four sons, David Irlam, Michael Irlam, Andrew Irlam and Stewart Irlam. David Irlam became Chief Executive, Michael Irlam became Managing Director, Andrew Irlam became Operations Director and Stewart Irlam became Finance Director. Andrew sold his 25% share of the business to his three brothers in 2004, to pursue ventures in commercial property.
From Wikipedia’s article on James Irlam, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2