Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

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Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 164,352 pages of information and 246,083 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Kirkstall Forge Engineering

From Graces Guide
November 1926. Axles.
1926.
1926.
1943.
November 1947.
1948. Intro to catalogue (1).
1948. Intro to catalogue (2).
1948. Intro to catalogue (3).
June 1948.
November 1950.
April 1951. Axle for Thornycroft.
April 1951.
January 1952.
February 1952.
March 1952.
April 1952.
April 1952.
May 1952.
May 1952.
June 1952.
July 1952.
August 1952.
September 1954.
November 1954. Bright Steel Bars.
November 1954. Axles.
November 1958.
May 1961.
1962.
July 1962.
May 1964.
September 1968.
November 1968.

of Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, design and production of axles for heavy road vehicles.

1919 Kirkstall Forge Co Ltd, a private company, was founded to acquire the business carried on by Kirkstall Forge[1].

1927 See Aberconway for information on the company and its history.

1930s Most of the buildings were rebuilt and machine shops refitted, much of the machinery being specially designed for the company's purposes[2].

1937 Steel bars and drop forgings. "Kirkstall" Steel Bars and Drop Forgings. [3]

1949 Company made public as Kirkstall Forge Engineering. Rodney Fawcett Butler was Chairman and MD. [4]. Directors intended to transfer the steel bar department to a separate subsidiary. About 1,800 employees. Directors intended to transfer the steel bar department to a separate subsidiary.

1961 General engineers and manufacturers of steel bars, drop forgings and axles for heavy motor vehicles. 1,800 employees.

1964 Acquired Regent Axle Co of Burnley, which would provide increased capacity for manufacture and machining of gears for axles[5].

1967 Steel Bar Division, which had a poor profit record, was sold to Flather Halesowen Ltd of Sheffield; a jointly-owned sales company had been established Kirkstall Bright Steels Ltd. Purchased pressed axle casing business of Charles Roberts and Co of Wakefield; separate operating subsidiary established at those premises[6]

1970 Acquired Precision Power Units Ltd of Cheltenham, which would be renamed Kirkstall Hydraulics Ltd[7].

1974 A new computer system, Composit 77 database management programme, was installed to report faults and their causes and costs.[8]

1974 Acquired by GKN, to become part of GKN Transmissions. The last member of the Butler family left the board[9].

The business was taken over by the Dana Corporation, who transferred production overseas, and closed the works. Some important old buildings and historic machines escaped destruction, but may be destined for 'demolition by neglect'.

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. ↑ The Times, 7 June 1949
  2. ↑ The Times, 7 June 1949
  3. ↑ 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries
  4. ↑ The Times, 7 June 1949
  5. ↑ The Times, 13 October 1965
  6. ↑ The Times, 15 November 1967
  7. ↑ The Times, 27 October 1970
  8. ↑ The Engineer 1974/03/28
  9. ↑ The Times, 21 March 1974
  • 'The History of Kirkstall Forge through Seven Centuries 1200 - 1945 A.D.' by Rodney Butler
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