'Fisholow' of Rolfe Street, Smethwick, Birmingham. Telephone: Smethwick 0607/8. Telegraphic Address: "Tinmen, Birmingham". (1937)
of Albion Works, Kingsbury Road, Birmingham
1851 Company founded.
1920 Formed as a public company Fisher and Ludlow (1920) Ltd.
1931 Name changed.
1937 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Exhibit comprises an installation of Storage Racks and Bins of Steel construction, surrounded by a platform of Treadway Flooring and Handrails, with examples of Storage Boxes for general works purposes. (Stand No. D.320) [1]
1938 The Castle Bromwich factory was specially constructed for wartime production.
1940 During the Battle of Britain, the factory was damaged by HE and incendiary bombs at 2341 hours on 15 October.
Post-WWII. Fisher and Ludlow purchased the Castle Bromwich factory. They made car bodies for Rover and Jaguar there.
1950 See Fisher and Ludlow: 1950
1953 They were taken over by the British Motor Corporation.
A correspondant writes:- 'I worked at Fisher and Ludlow, Birmingham from 1956 to 1965. At that time we were building car bodies for the Wolesley and Riley 1500, the Nash Metropolitan and the Austin Mini. The painted and trimmed bodies were transported to Longbridge and Oxford to add the mechanical parts. There were no Jaguars built there while I worked there.' [2]
1961 Subsidiary of British Motor Corporation. Employing 14,000 persons. Works at Birmingham, Goseley and Bordesley. [3]
1961 Moved the domestic appliance division to purpose made factory at Kirkby, Lancs [4], making Bendix washing machines, Fisholow stainless steel sinks and pressed steel radiators.
1963 Motor Show exhibitor. [5]
1966 Link-up with Parkinson Cowan who were seeking new products and capacity; Fisher-Bendix formed to bring together the manufacturing and marketing operations; Hugh Barker, chairman of Parkinsons, became chairman of Fisher-Bendix too [6].
1968 Under BLMC the business of the old British Motor Corporation body-making subsidiary Fisher and Ludlow was merged with the Pressed Steel Co to form the Pressed Steel Fisher.
1968 Parkinson Cowan purchased Fisher-Bendix.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 1937 British Industries Fair
- ↑ FC. 10 Jul 2010
- ↑ 1961 Guide to Key British Enterprises
- ↑ The Times, 24 February 1971
- ↑ 1963 Motor Show
- ↑ The Times, 24 February 1971