Elliott Automation Group, of Lewisham, London, the holding company for a collection of companies involved in process control and automation including a company active in the development of computers in the 1950s–60s in the United Kingdom.
Originated as a firm of instrument makers Elliott Brothers founded in London around 1800.
1950 Elliott Automation formed as private company.
1957 Elliott Automation issued shares to the shareholders of Elliott Brothers and Associated Automation to effect a merger of the 2 companies, forming 'the largest automation and instrumentation company in Europe'. Elliott Brothers continued to exist as a subsidiary company of Elliott Automation Group.[1]. Leon Bagrit became deputy chairman and managing director.
1958 Acquired Rotameter Manufacturing Co[2]. Sold Associated Insulation Products to AEI[3]
1960 Elliott Automation acquired Isotope Developments (Beenham), a subsidiary of Isotope Developments in order to avoid duplication by both companies in the nucleonic instruments field. Isotope Developments changed its name to Nucleonic Investments Ltd[4]
1960 Bendix Corporation sold its remaining shareholding in Elliott Automation.
1961 Manufacturers of automation systems; "Bendix" aviation instrumentation and specialised process control equipment; electrical recorders and switchboard instruments, industrial weighing equipment; "Fisher" fluid control equipment; valves and regulators, "Swartwout" electronic control systems, "Swift" weighing machines and "Swallow" food preparing machinery. 8,500 employees.
1961 Elliott Automation purchased Firth Cleveland Instruments; the business would continue from the same site under the name Elliott (Treforest).
1962 Acquired Londex, maker of specialized electrical control equipment[5]
1963 Elliott Automation acquired Perl Controls[6] and Baldwin Instrument Co of Dartford; Baldwin had 2 areas of operation: nucleonic instrumentation and fluid power equipment, both complementary to Elliott's existing acitivities[7]. Created new Satchwell Controls divisions - one at East Kilbride and the other at Slough; Perl Controls was expanded to cover all of the gas controls of Satchwell[8]
1964 Acquired controlling interest in A. E. Dean and Co, maker of medical X-ray apparatus, to enhance the medical technology activities[9]
1964 Two new management divisions formed - Mechanical Automation and Elliott-Automation Nucleonics - bringing the total to 14 business divisions in the Group.
1964 Formation of new subsidiaries Elliott Traffic Automation and Elliott Marine Automation[10]
1967 in the first deal arranged by the Industrial Reorganization Corporation, English Electric Co took over Elliott Automation to form the leading European group in computing and process control.
1968 the computer activities of this group were taken over by International Computers and Tabulators (ICT), encouraged by the British Government who believed that the U.K. required a strong national computer company. The combined company was called International Computers Ltd (ICL).
1968 GEC took over English Electric Co[11].
1969 Elliott Automation became part of GEC-Elliott Automation, the managing group for automation within GEC.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia
- 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE