British Mannesmann Tube Co
of Salisbury House, London Wall, London, EC.
Works of Landore, South Wales.
1888 Mannesmann Tube Co Ltd was registered with £300,000 capital. [1]
c1890 Took over Landore steel works, Swansea. [2]
1899 The company was registered on 19 July, as the British Weldless Tube Co to take over the business of the Mannesmann Tube Co. In November, the name was changed to the British Mannesmann Tube Co[3]
1900 Catalogue of weldless steel tubes, fittings, gas bottles, poles and tubular specialities. [4]
1900 June. Tramways and Light Railways Exhibition at Islington. Showed traction, arc and trolley poles. [5]
1913 In order to meet increasing demand, the site for a new tube works was found at Newport, Mon.
1914 Manufacturers of weldless steel tubes. Specialities: weldless steel tubes for boiler, steam and hydraulic purposes, telegraph and traction poles, spigot and faucet pipes, hollow davits, derricks and deck supports, gas cylinders, brass and copper tubes. Employees 1,500 to 1,600. [6]
WWI As an Austro-German owned firm, the company was taken over by The Custodian of Enemy Property and continued to produce materials for the war effort. Extensions to the plant were authorised by Engineer Captain Richards (Royal Navy) and were in progress or planned at the plant by May 1916.
The works were not returned to the previous owners after hostilities ceased.
1918 The new works was brought into operation. The company decided to restrict the manufacture of the smaller tubes to the Landore works, whilst tubes above 6 inches and up to 16 inches outside diameter would be produced at the Newport works.
1920 R. S. Guinness - on the board of Directors. [7]
1921 Baldwins acquired 89 percent of the shares by exchange[8].
1926 The Mannesmann Tube Works, Landore, near Swansea, restarted operations with supplies of foreign coals, with the hope of being able to maintain work, as they have sufficient coals, it was estimated, to last to the end of the coal stoppage.[9]
By 1927 was controlled by Baldwins[10]
1934 'Long Seamless Steel Tube.— Messrs. The British Mannesmann Tube Company, Limited, Newport (Mon.), have recently rolled a seamless steel tube 8 5/8 in. in diameter, 178 ft. in length, and weighing approximately 2 tons. This tube, it is claimed, is the longest ever made by any tube works in the world, and was produced under normal rolling conditions.'[11]
1936 Renamed Newport and South Wales Tube Co[12]
1936 New company formed United Tube (Holdings) Ltd to acquire British Mannesmann Tube Co. The new company would enter into agreements with Mannesmannrohren Werke, Stewarts and Lloyds, Tube Investments and others[13].
Newport Works
The tube works in Newport had been planned before the outbreak of the First World War
1914 Work began on construction in early 1914, just east of the Orb Steelworks.
It is unclear whether the works operated during WWI although an official source states that the factory opened in March 1916 for the manufacture of steel and iron tubes. The first products were also said to be forgings for shells and gas cylinders.
1916 Extensions to the plant were authorised by Engineer Captain Richards R.N. and were in progress or planned at the plant by May 1916
By 1921 the works were well established
As an Austro-German owned firm, it was taken over by The Custodian of Enemy Property and was not returned to the ownership of the Mannesmann family until 1926.
The works continued to produce tubes until 1972.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer of 20th January 1888 p61
- ↑ The Engineer 1890/06/27
- ↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908
- ↑ The Engineer of 11th May 1900 p498
- ↑ The Engineer of 29th June 1900 p667
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ The Engineer 1920/09/17
- ↑ The Times, Jun 06, 1921
- ↑ The Engineer 1926/10/15
- ↑ The Basic Industries of Great Britain by Aberconway: Chapter IXX
- ↑ Engineering 1934/03/23
- ↑ The Times, Oct 31, 1936
- ↑ The Times, 6 May 1936
- GGAT 130: The Sinews of War: South East Wales Industry and The First World War, 2015, by Johnny Crawford