Ferranti:1935 Review
Note: This is a sub-section of Ferranti
Visit of the Iron and Steel Institute to the Iron, Steel and Engineering Industries of Manchester and District
Ferranti Ltd, Hollinwood, Lancashire.
The Ferranti Company was founded by the late Dr. S. Z. de Ferranti in 1882 at the birth of the electrical supply industry. The founder's name first became famous in connection with his historic Deptford scheme for the supply of electricity to the City of London. It was the first example of supply by extra high tension transmission from a generating station erected on a site selected primarily out of consideration of convenience of coaling and water supply. The scheme developed on lines which are recognised to-day as the prototype of our national "Grid."
As manufacturers, Ferranti started with a small works in London at Appold Street, Finsbury and Hatton Garden, moving later to larger premises in Charterhouse Square, which soon became inadequate for the production of the orders that came apace for alternators, transformers, meters and switchgear.
The need for larger works with room for expansion brought the Company in 1897, to Hollinwood where activities are concerned to-day with the manufacture of meters, instruments, transformers, electric clocks, electric fires and water heaters. At Hollinwood also is situated the foundry, equipped on most up-to-date lines, with automatic moulding and sand preparing plant. The foundry is concerned mainly with the quantity production of high quality small iron castings. One large bay, however, is set aside for larger castings of sizes up to 5 tons. One well-known special product of the foundry is of course, the Ferranti "Nomag" non-magnetic cast iron.
Radio, the latest line of Ferranti activity has proved one of such rapid growth as to necessitate its removal this year, to a works about two miles away at Moston, self-contained and exclusively devoted to the manufacture of the wide range of Ferranti receivers and radiograms, and radio components. This new works with its 260,000 square feet of floor area rivals in size the main works at Hollinwood. The number of Ferranti employees at the height of the season last year, was over 8,000 - a figure which this year is sure to be exceeded.
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