About 1A & Autoroll

A Brief Look at the History of 1A Shutters and Grills Ltd and Autoroll UK

1A Shutters and Grills Ltd was formed by Gill and Giles about 25 years ago in the late nineties, working and manufacturing quietly in a small unit in Washington, Wear. They soon realised that the industry was growing, and the unit was too small for their needs. They quickly became market leaders in the industry, purchasing land nearby on Birtley Business Park, Washington, and completing a custom-built unit tailored to suit their trade.

As time went on, Gill and Giles embarked on manufacturing insulated electric garage doors and sold off 1A Shutters and Grills. Autoroll UK was born to manufacture insulated roller garage doors. 1A Shutters was sold in the mid-2000s to its current owners, who operated from a unit in Stirling Close, Washington. Autoroll UK continued to grow over the next 25 years and spread its wings across the UK, becoming a market leader by way of its perfected insulated garage doors — a market leader by anybody’s standard.

The reason for selling off 1A Shutters was to separate the industrial side of the business from the domestic garage door side. Fast forward 25 years, and with 1A having acquired the Autoroll brand and telephone number recently, we are now specialising predominantly in insulated garage doors, but with our wealth of experience and knowledge in industrial doors and security shutters, we will always endeavour to help and compete in this market for old and new customers.

It was with a heavy heart that Autoroll UK decided to change direction in January 2025, after five years previously being sold by Gill and Giles to a national company. We are now proud to bring Autoroll and 1A together as market leaders and continue to deliver excellence to the people of the North East.

Trusted across the North East for quality, reliability, and service — we combine decades of experience with dependable workmanship and 24/7 support.