Latch and Batchelor
Latch and Batchelor of Hay Mills, Birmingham, wire rope manufacturers
1730 Company established by Webster and Son, Penns. Later succeeded by Webster and Horsfall (Penns and Hay Mills) and became a limited company.
1854 Discovered a process for making patent steel wire for wire ropes, pianos etc.
1865-1866 Were the sole manufacturers of homogeneous steel and wire for Atlantic cable.
Henry Webster was approached by T. C. Batchelor to develop and perfect his inventions of Locked Coil and subsequently Flattened Strand ropes.
1884 Latch and Batchelor was formed on part of the Hay Mills site. Whilst the Flattened Strand rope proved an instant success due to its abrasion resistant and compact construction, coupled with a high breaking load, such was not the case with Locked Coil. Not only was it difficult to manufacture but the cost of converting installations to accommodate it was often prohibitive. Due to its smooth outer layer the popularity of Locked Coil led to increasing use in aerial ropeways and mining.
1892 The company started trading
Early 1900s, Latch and Batchelor supported research by their Welsh agent, Becker, on rope attachments. Becker gained a patent for an interlocking wedge-type rope cappel; the Reliance Rope Attachment Co was formed.
1890-1910 Locked coil ropes. (Exhibit at Birmingham Thinktank museum - see photo)
1914 Wire drawers and wire rope makers. Specialities: high-class steel wire and wire ropes for all purposes, patent flattened strand and locked coil wire rope. [1]
WWI Manufacturer of shell fuse spring wire, anti-submarine netting, mine, aircraft and balloon cables.
1980s Operations concentrated at Hay Mills, manufacturing specialist mining ropes.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Birmingham’s Industrial Heritage by Ray Shill. Published by Sutton Publishing 2002. ISBN 0-7509-2593-0
- Latch and Batchelor Company History [1]