David Brown and Sons

‎‎

1880.

1913.

1918.

1919.

January 1920.

1941. Ref AA below

October 1951.

October 1951.

1952.

1952.

1952.

February 1952.

David Brown and Sons of Swan Lane, Lockwood, Huddersfield is a British engineering company, principally engaged in the manufacture of gears and gearboxes.

General

• Founded in 1860 as a general manufacturing company.

• By 1873 David Brown had focused on gear systems.

• 1911 Maker of machine tools like bevel-gear generators. (David Brown and Sons)

• 1913 April. Advert for Worm Gear. Listed as David Brown and Sons.

• 1913-1917 For a list of the models and prices of cars see the 1917 Red Book. Produced the Valveless car.

• 1917 Advert for Double Helical Gears and Carburiser. (David Brown and Sons of Park Works, Lockwood, Huddersfield)

• 1919 Advert for Double Helical Gears and Carburiser. (David Brown and Sons of Park Works, Lockwood, Huddersfield)

• 1920 September. Exhibited at the Machine Tool and Engineering Exhibition at Olympia with a worm miller, worm grinder and a worm wheel generator. (David Brown and Sons)

• 1927 See Aberconway for information on the company and its history

• 1937 Gear manufacturers, steel, iron and bronze founders. "Roloid" Pumps. "Taurus" Bronze Castings.

• 1939 See Aircraft Industry Suppliers

• 1945 Advert for precision spur and helical gear hobs. (David Brown and Son)

• In 1947, the company acquired Aston Martin and in 1948, Lagonda. The David Brown investment led to the DB series of Aston Martins.

• 1951 Advert. Gears. (David Brown and Sons)

• 1960 Advert. Gearing.

• 1961 Listed as David Brown Industries with 7,000 employees. Works at Huddersfield, London, Coventry, Manchester and Salford. Engineers and metal founders, manufacturers and dealers in gears, agricultural machines and implements, tractors and motor cars.

• 1968 Largest gear hobbing machine by David Brown Gear Industries.

• 1972 Both car companies were sold in 1972 to Company Developments Limited Aston Martin then in financial trouble for a nominal £100.

• In 1990, the family disposed of its stake to its management who floated the group as a public company in 1993. David Brown was acquired by Textron Inc. in October 1998.

• The company, trading as David Brown Engineering Ltd, headquartered in Huddersfield, is now a leading supplier of heavy transmission systems for industrial, defence and marine applications.

Tractors

See David Brown: Tractors

Sources of Information

• [1] Wikipedia
• Machine Tools by James Weir French in 2 vols. Published 1911 by Gresham
• The Engineer of 3rd September 1920 p233
• The Autocar of 5th April 1913 p
• Mechanical World Year Book 1917. Published by Emmott and Co of Manchester. Advert p230-1
• Mechanical World Year Book 1919. Published by Emmott and Co of Manchester. Advert p262-3
• Mechanical World Year Book 1945. Published by Emmott and Co of Manchester. Advert p18
• Mechanical World Year Book 1951. Published by Emmott and Co of Manchester. Advert p18
• Mechanical World Year Book 1960. Published by Emmott and Co of Manchester. Advert on rear outside cover
• The Engineer of 5th January 1968 p10
• The Engineer of 26th April 1968 p650
• 1961 Guide to Key British Enterprises: Motor, Motor-Cycle and Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers
• 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries
• AA. [2] Image courtesy of Aviation Ancestry