British Insulated Cables
of Prescot, Lancashire.
of Surrey House, Embankment, London, EC2. (1937)
1890 British Insulated Cables had its origins in the British Insulated Wire Co of Prescot, near Liverpool.
1902 The name was changed to British Insulated and Helsby Cables after the amalgamation of the British Insulated Wire Co Ltd and the Telegraph Manufacturing Co Ltd.
British Copper Refiners was established as a subsidiary in adjacent premises
1925 The company changed its name to the British Insulated Cables Ltd (BIC).
1930 Acquired Macintosh Cable Co from Dunlops who had decided not to continue in the cable industry in view of their general programme of expansion in the rubber manufacturing industry.
1934 'For certain plant required by Messrs. Imperial Chemical Industries, Limited, a large number of joints had to be made in heavy alloy-steel tubing having a sectional area of 30 sq. in. It was decided to make the joints by resistance welding and for this purpose the butt welder illustrated on this page was designed by Messrs. British Insulated Cables, Limited, Prescot, Lancs. The machine is 15 ft. 6 in. in length, 8 ft. 3 in. in width, and 8 ft. 6 in. in height, while the transformer which supplies the welding current has a capacity of 600 kW. .... After the tubes to be joined have been clamped in position, the machine is fully automatic in action. A small control switch is closed and a sequence of operations is then gone through until the current is switched off and the weld is finally consolidated. The upsetting pressure is applied by hydraulic rams and may be varied from 10 to 50 tons. The preheating pressure can also be varied to suit the section of the material being welded. ....'[1]
1937 Advert in British Industries Fair Catalogue as Maker of C. M. A. (Cable Makers' Association) Cables. (Electricity: Industrial and Domestic Section - Stand No. Cb.501 and Cb.400) [2]
1937 Electric cable manufacturers. [3]
1937 G. H. Nisbett is MD
1938 B. I. Macintosh offered an "under-the-eaves" wiring system for electrical distribution in small houses (see advert).
1939 See Aircraft Industry Suppliers
1945 The company became British Insulated Callenders Cables or BICC, after the merger with Callenders Cable and Construction Co.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Knowsley Local History