of Friern Park, North Finchley, London, N12 (1937)
of Leeds (1961)
1921 Private company.
1937 Piston manufacturers. "Specialloid" Pistons. [1]
1938 Company made public.
1939 See Aircraft Industry Suppliers
1961 Manufacturers of aluminium alloy pistons and ferrous piston components for diesel and petrol engines for road, rail, marine, aircraft and stationary applications and manufacturers of transmission couplings. 700 employees. [2]
1962 Acquired jointly by Clifford Motor Components and Associated Engineering.[3]
1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Pistons, rings, gudgeon pins etc. [4]
1967 Associated Engineering acquired the shares it did not already own.[5]
Memories working at Specialloid by Rose White
"I worked there in about 1966/7 on the rough turning line making mainly pistons for Vauxhall and Rootes. Next line made various including a batch for Matchless G50 racers. Another made big flat pistons for water mills. The place was bright and friendly rather than grim Victorian like all other factories on that road.
Showroom window on street had huge ship engine pistons. Behind my line had been installed a group of multispindle machines that theoretically could turn a complete piston from rough but it was practically impossible to get it to make two identical or hold tolerances. Using aluminium with light oil for cooling meant all machines and fittings stayed clean and shiny. Piston ring dept seemed to make masses of scrap rings to keep profits down. All the various factories in the entire area were demolished to make way for the huge motorway interchange."[6]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- ↑ The Times, Aug 08, 1962
- ↑ 1963 Motor Show
- ↑ The Times Aug 16, 1967
- ↑ Personal account by Rose White (25/08/2016)