Frederick Smith and Co
of Caledonia Works, Halifax
of Anaconda Works, St. Simon Street, Salford, 3, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester). Telephone: Blackfriars 8701. Telegraphic Address: "Anaconda, Manchester"
1859 Established in Halifax for the manufacture of copper and steel wire[1] by Frederick Smith
Products included fencing wire and later telegraph and telephone wire.
1864 Frederick's brother, Matthew returned to Halifax and joined the management of the business.
By 1866 the company was employing 100 men and boys, produced 1,500 tons of wire each year and dumped lime and sulphuric acid into the Hebble Brook!
1868 Frederick Smith died
1880 Matthew Smith died; the business was continued by his son George
1896 Caledonia Wire Works was established by the Frederick Smith company in the centre of Halifax.
1897 Company incorporated when the copper department was moved to Salford. The name of the company became Frederick Smith and Co. Wire Manufacturers Ltd
Around this time the Halifax wire-making operation became Frederick Smith and Co. Wire Manufacturers Ltd, whilst the Frederick Smith and Co Ltd business at Salford concentrated on copper wire (see advert).
1909 Merger of the Salford operation with the London Electric Wire Co to form the London Electric Wire Co and Smiths Ltd[2]
1935 See Frederick Smith and Co:1935 Review
1937 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Bare Copper, Cadmium-Copper and Bronze Wires, Strips, Rods, Bars, Rectangles and Special Sections for all electrical purposes. Trolley Wire. Transmission Lines. Telegraph Wires, Lightning Conductors. Earthing Rods. Fuse Wires. (Stand No. Cb.610)
By 1957 the 4 companies were marketing their products in a coordinated fashion: London Electric Wire Co and Smiths, Frederick Smith and Co, Liverpool Electric Cable Co, Vactite Wire Co (see advert)
1959 Acquired by AEI Cables
As a subsidiary of Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), Frederick Smith and Co, bought copper on behalf of the AEI cablemaking companies as well as for its own use.
1973-74 Smiths supplied a total of 42,700 tonnes of copper rod, wire and strip to UK cable and covered wire manufacturers, of which 22,500 tonnes were supplied to AEI companies other than London Electric Wire Co (LEW) and its subsidiaries, and 15,200 tonnes to LEW companies. Smiths supplied the bulk of AEI Cables's copper requirements in the form of copper rod on terms negotiated from time to time.
See Also
Sources of Information
- 1937 British Industries Fair p415
- [1] Competition Commission
- [2] Halifax Today