Ingram’s Document Storage History

The Company's founder William Edward Ingram (Bill as he was always known) in the 1950’s would combine using his van for his part time business as a carton merchant with carrying out local moves and deliveries for friends and neighbours. All this was in addition to his main job which was working for The Alligator Leather Factory in St Helen Auckland on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland. Bill would work 7 days a week, he was never happier than when he was working.

Bill was proud to be the first owner in Bishop Auckland of a Ford Transit van in 1966, the first year of their production. By 1968 Bill’s eldest son Ian was running his own waste paper recycling company as well as assisting his father in his carton business. Unfortunately the recycling business was in its infancy in the 60's and was not the multi million pound industry it is today; however the carton business was steadily growing with Bill making more and more sale contacts with local textile and plastic companies in County Durham and Teesside.

Ingram's Document Storage

Fast forward 40 years in which time Ingram's Removers and Storers had expanded into postal and express delivery services, retail funriture delivery, domestic removals and haulage. Through the 70s and 80s there were further developments with opening warehouses, joining the BAR and serving contracts for the British Army which meant there was further requirements of containerised storage and warehouse operations. COmercial movnig services were growing.

The 90s

The significant shift from Domestic removal work to commercial moving was particularly welcome due to the housing recession which reached a peak in 1992. During this time Ingram's won contracts to provide document storage services for companies including the NHS, a local Accounting group and a pigeon racing club (talk about diverse!) Due to Ingram's containerised storage system this proved no problem and this area of the business continued to expand slowly.

The New Century

Still retaining a high profile in the North East and beyond with their domestic removals, container storage and commercial moving division, the year 2000 saw Ingram's venture into Document Storage and Archive Services; this business has steadily grown over several years with both the public sector and private sector storing their document archives with Ingram’s. 

In 2005 Ingram's expanded dramatically with the contract for the NHS-Primary Care Trust which was expanding. This meant the development of more advanced facilities and services for their clients; which has expanded so much in the intervening years that it was necessary in to open a purpose built warehouse purely to store clients documents.

In July 2010 Ingram's open new depot for documentation record management - Century Court, Henson Close, South Church Enterprise Park, Bishop Auckland, DL14 6WA. Due to the success of Ingram's documentation storage, archive and record management services it was necessary in the summer of 2010 to open a second documentation storage depot to cater for the growing demand for commercial documentation storage. The premises were specifically designed internally to maximise space and vehicle manoeuvrability. Site Security System fitted and Managed by Barrier Surveillance. Archive storage containers built & manufactured by Simpson Packaging.
 

March 2015 - Documentation Management and Archive Storage
Opened in the spring of 2015. In addition to their head office and depository in Bishop Auckland this is the second unit the company have opened on South Church Enterprise Park on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland and is conveniently situated next door to their existing unit. The new unit will mainly be used to accommodate the demand for Ingram’s expanding domestic and documentation storage businesses. Continuous developments are being made to the facilities and equipment to cope with the varying demands of clients and new legislation.

See the latest highlights that outline the top 5 reasons why Ingram's should be your first choice for Document Management and Archive Storage in the region.
 

September 2016 - Archeology Catalogue relocation
Ingram's in Chelsea relocating the entire back catalogue archive of the late archaeologist Beatrice de Cardi OBE, FSA, FBA. At the end of her career, she was the world's oldest practising archaeologist. A remarkable lady who passed away in July 2016 at the age of 102. See Wikipedia for Beatrice's full biography.

March 2018 - Which? Trusted Trader endorsement
Trading standards professionals from Which? have been assessing Ingram's and following a successful visit have given their endorsement as a Trusted Trader - a sign of reputation and trust. Just another way that Ingram's shows its clients that they are one of the best document storage and removals companies in the area. See Ingram's Trusted Trader profile for more information.

May 2018 - GDPR Compliance
Ingram's have put the final touches to our GDPR procedures and operations. We are proud to say that having reviewed all of our business processes and operations, the GDPR reviews have provided an extension of our already stringent procedures for handling people's personal and sensitive data.

When processing data we undertake the following:

• The processing is lawful, fair and transparent
• Transparent about what the data is being used for
• Data is collected for a specific purpose
• The data is necessary for the purpose
• The data must be accurate and kept up to date
• Data is not kept for longer than necessary
• The data is kept safe and secure

Full details of our policies and procedures can be obtained from our office - use our contact details to obtain further details.

July 2018 - New Vehicle Aquisition
Ingram's have also recently took delivery of a new Mercedes Vito van, which will be used in two divisions of the company. i.e. Advanced packaging deliveries for document storage clients, home survey assessments and archive management collections / deliveries. In addition the vehicle is fitted with 5 passenger seats, therefore it can also be used to transport operational staff between jobs.

April 2019-April 2020 - Which? Trusted Traders - Certificate of Distinction
With the continued efforts to maintaining and improving quality at Ingrams, Which? Trusted Traders have awarded Ingram's with a Certificate of Distinction - merited through the companies efforts and investment in the industry.

• Outstanding Complaint Handling and Complaint Resolution
• Steady stream of customer reviews highlighting customer satisfaction
• Outstanding fulfilment of the ongoing requirements of Which? Trusted Traders

July 2020 - New addition to the fleet - Ingram's Removals & Containerised Storage Division
Ingram's Removals in County Durham have added to their fleet to help the company compete in both commercial and domestic moving markets - purpose built for long & short heavy bulky loads. Ingram's new Mercedes Benz is a 6 x 2 low frame rigid truck, with a trailing axle, 25,000kg GVW. The truck has space capacity of 2,270 cu ft, and a built in two man sleeper pod above the cab. Additional features include front and rear air suspension with electronic level adjustment.

March 2022 - Ingram’s invest in a new Mercedes Sprinter
Ingram’s invest in a new Mercedes Sprinter van to assist in their operations with the ever increasing challenging accesses the company are faced with on a daily basis across the UK.

April 2023 - Ingram’s brothers celebrate 50 years in the removals business together
The Northern Echo runs a feature article on the long partnership/careers of Malcom and Ian at Ingram's. Read the full article from the Northern Echo here.

2026 Ingram’s Personnel   
A successful business does not run without efficient, conscientious and motivated staff and Ingram’s are no exception to this rule.  Ingram’s combine experience and professionalism with youth and enthusiasm, Ingram’s boast a combined operational staff experience of over 200 years. Hover over the photographs below to view the names of personnel involved with the day to day running of Ingram’s

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Page last updated on March 12, 2026 .