John Guest sat behind a desk.

Our brand story

Founded by John Guest in 1961, we're now part of RWC's integrated family of brands, supporting customers across diverse industries worldwide.

From humble beginnings to global powerhouse

John Guest started his engineering business from a small tool shop in 1961, driven by the desire to solve complex challenges with smarter, simpler and more reliable solutions. His first major breakthrough was the design of game-changing tube connection technology, originally for compressed air.

During the 1980s, John Guest developed products to meet the exacting performance and safety standards for the drinks, automotive and telecoms sectors. When Ford needed a fitting for its fuel lines, they turned to John Guest. And working in partnership with BT, John Guest invented the world’s first push-fit fibre optic connection.

In 1987, the JG Speedfit plastic push-fit system was born. This iconic brand revolutionised the modern world of plumbing, enabling secure, safe pipe connections to be made in a fraction of the time taken traditionally.

New product development for countless applications continues. But, as well as invention, the John Guest name has become synonymous with quality and service thanks to rigorous design and testing standards and a business run on shared values.

Today, our UK factories make billions of products that are used and trusted worldwide. Everything is made on site from our tooling to our components, ensuring the John Guest reputation for reliability and service.

A timeline of major events in John Guest's history.

Over 60 years in the making

Take a look back at our major milestones over the years.

A united family of brands

In 2018 a major milestone in our industry saw John Guest becoming part of the global manufacturing group, RWC.

Sharing similar markets and company values to John Guest, RWC had been founded on the other side of the world in Brisbane, Australia in 1936. Also from humble engineering workshop beginnings, RWC has grown to become a worldwide group with a clear purpose: Making customers’ lives easier with clever solutions for the built environment.

Now headquartered in Atlanta USA, the RWC group has a truly global reach, with an integrated family of brands including SharkBite, Reliance Valves and John Guest at its core.

As part of RWC, the John Guest innovative spirit is stronger than ever – pioneering new products, sectors and ways to connect with our family of brands, across the world. Together, we’re constantly looking ahead at new applications and challenges, from sustainability to the changing needs of the modern built environment, to how we can continue to make lives easier and safer for the next generation.

Atlanta skyline

Get in touch to find out more

A friendly looking man in an RWC branded pop top smiling with his arms folded.