In 1931 Lodge Holme Mill was taken over by the engineering firm of Burrows and Green and during World War Two tracer bullets were made there. A special machine to make the bullets had to be constructed at the factory first. Seventy women were employed on munitions work. Later the firm became known as Bursgreen and was eventually taken over by Wadkin and they operated as Wadkin Bursgreen. The firm closed down in 1993 when work was transferred to the Leicester branch.

Burroughs-Green or Bursgreen were set up just before WWII in the North East of England (Co. Durham) to build a new generation of "lightweight" classic woodworking machines and quickly established a range of machines popular in joinery shops, etc. By 1947 they had become a subsidiary of an old established woodworking machinery manufacturer, John Sagar & Co. of Halifax, West Yorkshire. Early machines (pre-1955 to 1957), while rare, are sometimes found with only a Bursgreen plate and no reference to Wadkin.

Around 1955 John Sagar sold out to Wadkin. Within four years most of the production at Halifax had ceased. Wadkin did, however, expand the range of Wadkin Bursgreen products and Bursgreen eventually grew to encompass several factories in Co. Durham, Colne in Lancashire (routers/CNC routers) and Scarborough (band saws).