How John Elliott's £30m empire began on a fag packet

John Elliott set about meeting the ever-changing needs of his customers by designing and building machines in County Durham.

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John Elliott, Ebac

John Elliott's business empire began with a chance meeting in 1973 when he was 28. Elliott, now 69, was selling the industrial dehumidifiers used on building sites to dry plaster quickly. "I met a customer who couldn't get the dehumidifier he wanted, because the firms that sold that type had exclusivity contracts." Elliott, who had worked as a draughtsman designing the machines, offered to make one. "I literally drew up a design on the back of a cigarette packet."

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