The Company was founded by Arthur Bodycote in
Hinckley in 1923 as a
textile business under the name of
G.R. Bodycote Ltd. It was acquired by
Slater Walker in 1951 and demerged from them in 1973. In 1980, it went on to buy
Zinc Alloy Rust Proofing Ltd, which was the beginning of its metallurgical coatings business. In 1990, Bodycote acquired
Metallurgical Testing Services Ltd (MTS) of
Edinburgh from Murray International plc, laying the foundations for what would become Bodycote's
materials testing business. In 2008, the materials testing division was sold to private ownership, leading to the founding of the testing company
Exova. In 1991, it bought
HIP Ltd, a leading Hot Isostatic Processing business. In December 2000, the company bought
Lindberg Corporation, the largest
heat treatment business in the
United States. The company changed its name from Bodycote International plc to Bodycote plc in April 2008. ==Operations==