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In 1921 the Rose Street Foundry & Engineering Co. Ltd sold its arc welding company and purchased the A.I. Manufacturing Company of Bradford, which manufactured resistance welding machines. While the name of the company is widely believed to stand for Ashton and Ibbotson, recent research suggests that Armitage and Ibbotson is more likely.

Demand for their products was slow in the early years as the process was still in its infancy. However, after the outbreak of war in 1939, demand soared. The cross-channel pipelines used in 'Operation Pluto' were exclusively welded by A.I., as were the machines for welding the hubs into which aircraft propeller blades were fitted. For these projects the company received an award from the Royal Commission on awards and inventors.

In 1945 the company changed its name to Resistance Welders Ltd. The company continued to grow throughout the second half of the 20th century supplying welding machines to firms around the world and, in the 1960s, changed its name to A.I. Welders Ltd

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