of Hayes, Middlesex. Telephone: Southall 2468. Cables: "Emifactory, Hayes, Middlesex"
1931 The Electric and Musical Industries Ltd formed in March 1931 as a public company from a merger of the UK Columbia Graphophone Co and the Gramophone Co and others[1]. From its beginning, the company was involved in both the manufacture of recording and playback equipment and the provision of music to play on its machines.
The company's gramophone manufacturing led to forty years of success with larger-scale electronics. During and after the World War II, the EMI Laboratories in Hayes, Hillingdon developed radar equipment and guided missiles.
1934 Marconi's television transmission interests were merged with those of EMI Ltd in a company called Marconi-EMI Television Co which would be concerned with all aspects of transmission[2].
1934 Rudge-Whitworth, the largest Coventry cycle concern, was taken over by the Gramophone Company[3].
1936 The Marconi-EMI system was adopted by the BBC for its public high definition television service - the first in the world.
1937 Gramophone Co - wireless manufacturers. [4]
1939 Rudge-Whitworth production was moved to Hayes (Middlesex)[5]
WWII: started production of special types of thermionic valves.
1943 Rudge-Whitworth was acquired by Raleigh [6]
1945 With Smiths Motor Accessories Ltd Gramophone Co formed a joint company Radiomobile Ltd to market car radios developed and manufactured by the Gramophone Co[7].
1946 Reorganisation of EMI's companies. As a result, the Gramophone Co's research, design and production activities were distributed between 3 of EMI's subsidiaries[8].
1947 British Industries Fair Advert for Radio Frequency Heating for industrial purposes. Illustrating Model R.F.H.1. Manufacturers of Radio - Frequency Industrial heating Equipment for the Moulding Industry and a wide range of industrial processes, including treatment of wood, sterilisation of food, case-hardening of steel, brazing and soldering. (Plastics Section - Earls Court, 1st Floor, Stand No.821) [9] Also see EMI Factories
1947 EMI purchased a large factory at Perivale from Radio and Television Trust[10].
1949 EMI acquired control of Cossor's Electronic Tubes thermionic valve production subsidiary which continued to supply A. C. Cossor[11].
1950s Thorn Electrical Industries took over the manufacture of the HMV and Marconiphone range of consumer products from EMI.
1953 Gramophone Co - manufacturer of TV sets [12]
1955 Formed EMI Electronics Ltd to lead the expansion of business in commercial and industrial electronics; the company was previously known as Emitron Television Ltd; it would absorb EMI Engineering Developments, EMI Factories, and EMI Research Laboratories[13]
1956 GEC purchased EMI's share in the M-O Valve company which had been held through the Gramophone Co.
1955-7 The EMI Electronic Business Machine was developed at Hayes; this was a valve-based computer which was ordered by BMC for payroll work; valves were then recognised as being too unreliable and future computer development was based on transistors.
1958 the EMIDEC 1100, Britain's first transistorized computer, was developed at Hayes under the leadership of Godfrey Hounsfield.
The company won a contract from NRDC to develop a transistor-based computer, which came to fruition as the EMIDEC 2400.[14]
1960 EMI bid for Simon-Carves but was unsuccessful[15].
1961 Gramophone Co - manufacturers of television and radio apparatus, gramophone records and household appliances. [16]
1961 Columbia Gramophone Co - Manufacturers of gramophone records, radio sets, radio-grams and television receivers. [17]
1961 Holding company for nine subsidiaries. Group employees are 26,000. [18]
1966 AEI and EMI formed British Domestic Appliances to bring together their Hotpoint and Morphy-Richards subsidiaries[19].
By 1967 EMI had sold just 3 of its Emidec 2400 computers[20]
1967 The nucleonics activities were acquired by Nuclear Enterprises (G.B.)
1968 Queen's Award to Industry for Technological Innovation. [21]
1968 Supplied reactor operating recorder for the Winfrith power station. as EMI (Electronic). [22]
1968 GEC and EMI merged their domestic appliance businesses, British Domestic Appliances and GEC (Domestic Equipment) producing the largest refrigerator maker in the UK and major share in washing machines, cookers and small electrical appliances[23], which was then called British Domestic Appliances.
1969 Acquired Associated Fire Alarms, followed shortly thereafer by Minerva Fire Defence[24].
Early 1970s, the EMI scientist developed the first CAT scanner, a device which revolutionized medical imaging. Hounsfield later won the Nobel Prize for his accomplishment. After brief but brilliant success in the imaging field, EMI's manufacturing activities declined and disappeared.
1973 GEC acquired EMI's share of British Domestic Appliances[25].
1976 EMI acquired a further 61 percent of Nuclear Enterprises, taking its holding up to 90 percent, particularly because of interest in Nuclear Enterprises' ultrasonic scanning equipment, which would complement EMI's whole body X-ray scanner[26]
1979 EMI was acquired by Thorn Electrical Industries to form Thorn EMI[27] one of the largest operating companies in the UK.
1996 On August 16, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of demerger proposals, completing the process of focusing the company which became EMI Group plc, with the electronics and rentals divisions divested as Thorn plc which was later acquired by Future Rentals, a subsidiary of Nomura Group in 1998. It is now defunct.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [6] Wikipedia
- ↑ The Times, Sep 17, 1931
- ↑ The Times, 24 May 1934
- ↑ History of Coventry [1]
- ↑ 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries
- ↑ History of Coventry [2]
- ↑ History of Coventry [3]
- ↑ http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1950_1959/fulltext/020c02.pdf
- ↑ http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1950_1959/fulltext/020c02.pdf
- ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 87; and p89
- ↑ The Times, 17 December 1947
- ↑ http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1950_1959/fulltext/020c02.pdf
- ↑ Choosing your Television Set. Published by Freelance in 1953.
- ↑ The Times, Feb 02, 1955
- ↑ Early Computer Developments at EMI, by Ron Clayden [4]
- ↑ The Times, 10 March 1960
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- ↑ 1961 Guide to Key British Enterprises
- ↑ The Times, 17 January 1970
- ↑ British Computer Industry - Success Or Failure? by Nicholas Enticknap [5]
- ↑ The Engineer of 26th April 1968 p650
- ↑ The Engineer of 8th March 1968 p399
- ↑ The Times, 25 May 1968
- ↑ The Times, 1 November 1969
- ↑ he Times, 4 July 1973
- ↑ The Times, Oct 05, 1976
- ↑ The Times, 14 November 1979