The origins of Riggs Autopack Ltd date back to the early 1930's when the founding business was established as Autopack Ltd and based in Birmingham, England. During the late 1940's, the business moved to larger premises in Malvern, Worcestershire, where it stayed until 1991.

Autopack Ltd built high quality dry goods handling machinery ie. auger fillers, vibratory weighers and drum filling machines, supplied to the food and cosmetic production industry's. As the company evolved it became the UK's largest manufacturer in it's field, and at it's height during the 1980's they employed in excess of 200 people and exported to over 50 countries.

In 1989, Autopack Ltd purchased Tri-Tech Systems Ltd, a UK manufacturer of high quality liquid and semi-liquid depositors and filling machines supplied to the food production industry. These machines were added to the Autopack Ltd product catalogue and today represent the origins of Riggs Autopack's Model 1000 range of volumetric depositors and filling machines.

Autopack Ltd was itself purchased by the Fort Vale Group in 1991 and integrated with Riggs Bros Ltd, an established Fort Vale Group member, thus forming Riggs Autopack Ltd. The business was re-located to Nelson, Lancashire, where the company remains to this day. 

Riggs Autopack remains a proud member of The Fort Vale Group. The group's parent company Fort Vale Engineering was founded in 1967 by the current Chairman Mr Edward S. Fort OBE, and are a world leader in the precision manufacture of valves and fittings for transportation in the road tanker and tank container industries.

                                                     Mr Edward S. Fort OBE                                                   

                                          Fort Vale Group Chairman & Founder                                              

Fort Vale Engineering Headquarters

Simonstone, Lancashire 

The Fort Vale Engineering headquarters are based in Simonstone, Lancashire, and the company has branches situated throughout the world including USA, Russia, China, Singapore, Australia and The Netherlands. 

Over the years, a collection of associate UK based companies has been developed within the Fort Vale Group, mostly within the engineering industry and all managed independently. Beside Riggs Autopack, other group members include: