The Vono Co of Hope Works, Dudley Port, Tipton, Staffs. Telephone: Tipton 1841-6. Cables: "Vono, Tipton". Export Division: 75-77 Worship Street, London, EC2.
Later the name Duport was adopted which was a contraction of Dudley Port.
1896 The Vono Company was formed.
Producer of bed brackets which had gradually developed into metal beds, divans and convertibles. The foundry was kept as a separate business and in 1911 purchased Ewarts, Birmingham, gunsmiths. [1]
1921 Vono Co., Duport Foundry, Tipton Road, Tividale[2]
c.1926 Bertram Silcock joined the business.
1930 Duport Foundries was incorporated
1933 Castor makers, wire mattress makers, wooden bedstead fittings and combination and spiral spring mattresses[3]
1939 Incorporated as a private company to acquire the business of The Vono Company.
WWII Production of Bailey Bridges, pontoons, ammunition and other equipment for the armed services.
1946 Converted to a public company, which was concerned with production of domestic equipment, wood and metal components required for the Housing Programme; manufacture of high-class engineering accessories for the motor, aircraft, electrical, gas and refrigeration trades; speciality castings; plastic mouldings; fibre upholstery and components for the railway, motor, aircraft and furnishing trades. Several of the directors were also directors of Revo Electric Co. Subsidiary companies were[4]:
- Portways Ltd
- Ewarts Ltd
- Duport Foundries Ltd
- Cromwells Ltd
1947 British Industries Fair Advert for Perfect Sleep Equipment and Vono Sleep Comforts. Manufacturers of Spring Interior Mattresses, Overlays, Divans, Wire Mattresses, Bedstead Fittings, Metal Camp Folders, Adjustable Bedstead Castors. (Furniture Section - Earls Court, 1st Floor, Stands No. 709 and 749) [5]
1950 Death of first chairman of Vono as a public company; appointment of W.L. Barrows as chairman[6]. Company's name changed to Vono Industrial Products.
1951 Subsidiary companies of Vono Industrial Products included[7]:
- Vono Ltd including flock factories Portways and West Bromwich
- Ewarts Ltd
- Duport Foundries Ltd
- Cromwells Ltd
1952 Acquired Vowles Brothers Ltd of West Bromwich.
1953 Acquired a small electronics company in Dudley, Teledictor Ltd.[8]
1955 Preference share issue. Acquired Burman and Sons Ltd makers of motor steering gears.
1956 Acquired the remaining shares in Haybridge Steel Co of Wellington, Shropshire which owned F. W. Ratcliff and Co of Oldbury[9]. Name of company changed from Vono Industrial Products Ltd to Duport to better reflect the business and because the old name was too cumbersome[10].
1965 The M.D. of Vono Ltd wrote an article calling for more novelty in British furniture (design and production methods) to attack export markets[11]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Post 25 May 1971
- ↑ Dudley Chronicle 24 September 1921
- ↑ 1933 Kelly's Directory of Birmingham
- ↑ The Times, 2 August 1946
- ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 210; and p287
- ↑ The Times, 30 May 1973
- ↑ The Times, 7 March 1951
- ↑ The Times, March 11, 1953
- ↑ The Times, 9 January 1956
- ↑ The Times, 30 May 1973
- ↑ The Times, 11 February 1965