Lucas Varity
Chronology of this group:
- 1882-1897 Joseph Lucas and Son
- 1897-1951 Joseph Lucas Ltd
- 1951-1975 Joseph Lucas (Industries) Ltd
- 1975-1996 Lucas Industries Ltd
- 1996-1999 Lucas Varity plc
1996 Lucas Industries merger with the Varity Corporation of America to become LucasVarity plc[1]. Note: The first part of the Varity name is from the founder's initials - Victor. A. Rice
1997 Sold VarityPerkins diesel engines business to its largest customer, Caterpillar[2]. The company was left with 3 main areas of business:
- Braking systems
- Other automotive (including diesel systems)
- Aerospace components
1999 LucasVarity was acquired by TRW, an American company.
1999 TRW needed to recover some of the high price it had paid for LucasVarity and sold Lucas Aerospace's Burnley fabrication plant, and later sold the Lucas Diesel Systems company to Delphi Automotive Systems[3]