The Hamworthy Engineering Company of Hamworthy, Poole
1911 Company founded by Percy Hall (when he returned to the UK from Mexico where he had been involved in looking for oil) as Hall’s Engineering - a marine engine and boat repair business.
1913 Percy was joined by his brother Sidney Zaleski Hall who had been the chief design engineer at Petters
By 1914 The company name was changed to Hamworthy Engineering Company Limited following its incorporation as a limited company. It had 6 employees.
1918 Hamworthy set up its own foundry to guarantee a supply of high quality castings.
1920 May. Issued catalogue on oil engines [1]
1920 Showed an oil engine applied to winch work at the Darlington Royal Agricultural Show. They also showed lighting and pumping sets with the same oil engine. [2]
1921 The company opened an office at 22, Dean-street, Newcastle and appointed Phillip E. Brittain as the Northern sales manager.[3]
1924 Opened a branch office at 103, West Regent-street, Glasgow.[4]
1927 Opened a branch office at 50 Grainger Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.[5]
1936 A fire at the main pattern shop effectively ended the production of Hamworthy engines.
WWII Carried on production of pumps and compressors, much of which was used either directly or indirectly in the war effort.
Post-WWII Started manufacturing gear pumps and hydraulic valves for Ruston-Bucyrus, the bulldozer and excavator manufacturer
1953 Ruston-Bucyrus took over the manufacture of the products themselves.
1954 Hamworthy Engineering became a licensee of the Hydreco Division of the US company New York Air Brake. Hamworthy Hydraulics was formed from this association as a 50percent-owned subsidiary of Hamworthy Engineering.
1955 Company renamed as Hamworthy Engineering Ltd; moved to new premises at Fleets Corner, where 2000 staff were employed.
1962 Powell Duffryn acquired Hamworthy Engineering Co including its 50 percent share of Hamworthy Hydraulics[6].
1968 Queen's Award to Industry for Export Achievement [7]
1972 Acquired Fuel Furnaces of Birmingham[8]. Prototype Hydralift offshore crane drive delivered.
1974 Mr. John Clarke became the technical director of Fuel Furnaces, Great Barr, Birmingham, a company in the combustion division of Hamworthy Engineering Co, part of the Powell Duffryn Group.[9]
1986 Acquired Williams and James, compressor makers[10]
1988 Acquired SV Castings of Newport, Gwent[11]
1989 Hamworthy purchased Hydreco shares – the company became part of Hamworthy Hydraulics. Powell Duffryn Group acquired the Hamworthy Hydraulics company.
Acquired Airoil-Flaregas and Peabody Engineering broadened the product portfolio.
1993 David Brown Group purchased Hamworthy Hydraulics and Hamworthy Transmissions from Hamworthy Engineering and the production facility of the Transmissions part of the business was moved to the main David Brown facility in Huddersfield.
1995 The 3 main divisions of the company would operate independently:
- Combustion
- Marine
- Compressor
1995 Acquired Belliss and Morcom from Rolls Royce Engineering[12]
2001 The compressors business of Belliss and Morcom was acquired by Gardner-Denver Co[13]
2004 Hamworthy, fluid systems engineers, was spun out of Powell Duffryn; public company floated[14]
21st century: Hamworthy Combustion has 800 employees in 18 locations worldwide.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 1920/05/07 p488
- ↑ The Engineer 1920/07/20
- ↑ The Engineer 1921/03/18
- ↑ The Engineer 1924/08/22
- ↑ The Engineer 1927/03/25
- ↑ The Times, Aug 24, 1962
- ↑ The Engineer of 26th April 1968 p650
- ↑ The Times, Nov 16, 1972
- ↑ The Engineer 1974/05/30
- ↑ The Times, September 30, 1986
- ↑ The Times, August 10, 1988
- ↑ The Times, June 02, 1995
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ The Times, July 20, 2004