Whessoe Foundry and Engineering Co
Whessoe Foundry and Engineering Co Ltd, of Darlington
of 25 Victoria Street, London, SW1
of Darlington (1961)
formerly the Whessoe Foundry Co
1920 Public company formed as Whessoe Foundry and Engineering Co Ltd to acquire the business and assets of Whessoe Foundry Co[1].
1930 Exclusive manufacturing arrangement for the US McKee oil refinery and blast furnace equipment in Britain[2].
1931 Instituted a research department[3]
1934 Developed electrostatic precipitator for cleaning gases[4].
1937 Manufacturers of petrol and water storage tanks and weighbridges.
1937 Built spherical gas holder for Gas Light and Coke Co at Canvey Island[5]
1938 In addition to tanks (which were the largest area of turnover), various new lines of business had been developed over the years including gas cleaning for blast furnaces, and for coke oven gas in association with Woodham-Duckham Co, and electric arc welding. Had negotiated licence with Chicago Bridge and Iron Co for spheroidal tanks for light petroleum products for which the company, in conjunction with Motherwell Bridge and Engineering Co, would be appointed licensees for British Empire excl Canada[6].
WWII Produced more than half of the underground petrol storage tanks needed by the services, hulls for Churchill tanks and tank landing craft as well as parts for Mulberry Harbour (Whale), Fido and Pluto, as well as bombs and other munitions[7].
1945 Name changed to Whessoe Ltd.
1954 Building 2 nuclear reactor vessels for Calder Hall Power Station; finished a second wind tunnel for the National Aeronautical Establishment, Bedford[8].
1955 Joined the new Nuclear Power Plant Co[9].
1959 Delivered the first liquid methane storage tank made from aluminium[10].
1961 Engineers, builders and designers of capital plant for oil, atomic power, gas and chemical industries. Manufacturers of marine gauges and "Telepulse" gauging systems. 1,500 employees.
1961 Agreement with Selas Corporation of USA to licence oil heaters and other process units[11].
1962 Acquired Express Tools of Chessington[12]. Acquired the Stooperdale part of the Darlington railway works which was due for closure; this was adjacent to the company's main works[13].
1964 First British order received for a steam naptha reforming plant (for making town gas) using the ICI process which was licensed to Selas Corporation[14].
1966 Formed joint venture with William Press and Sons to provide engineering and maintenance services for the petro-chemical industries[15].
1967 Acquired Aiton and Co[16].
1968 Took over the metal fabrication part of the business of Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co with help from the Industrial Reorganization Corporation[17].
1968 Contract from Badger for six chemical columns and reactor vessels for the heavy organic chemicals Division for the ICI North Tees works
1968 Acquired Malone Precision Tool[18].
1973 Sold the 3 companies in the precision engineering division: Express Tools, Morgan and Brace and Malone Precision Tool to Rodd Engineering Co of Shepperton[19].
1974 Made losses on fixed-price contracts for N Sea oil work.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times, 19 May 1920
- ↑ The Times, 3 January 1931
- ↑ The Times, 12 June 1931
- ↑ The Times 20 June 1934
- ↑ The Times, 26 June 1937
- ↑ The Times, 27 June 1938
- ↑ The Times, 13 July 1945
- ↑ The Times, 7 July 1954
- ↑ The Times, 4 July 1955
- ↑ The Times, 22 June 1959
- ↑ The Times, 3 July 1961
- ↑ The Times, 2 July 1962
- ↑ The Times, 20 November 1962
- ↑ The Times, 14 September 1964
- ↑ The Times, 17 February 1966
- ↑ The Times, 27 April 1967
- ↑ The Times, 22 March 1968
- ↑ The Times, 10 December 1968
- ↑ The Times, 17 February 1973