Author Topic: companies that have gone in Birmingham  (Read 90567 times)

buster

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #44 on: September 07, 2011, 03:46:01 PM »
I worked at The James Motorcycle in Greet as a typist in 1957 until I went in work at Parker Winder and achurch in Broad Street in the typing pool great fun days of the early 60s. Parkers has gone now it was a large store they sold every thing from nuts and bolts to bathrooms.

Mogmeister

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #45 on: September 10, 2011, 09:34:05 PM »
Alstom Transport , used to be Metro Cammell , we built trains , the French bought us and five years later in 2005 finally closed us and took the work to France , a company that had been here since the 1800's .
 
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trapio

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #46 on: September 11, 2011, 04:32:34 AM »


,,,and they've just got the big London contract.....companies that have shed workers / moved factory abroad in EU, should automatically be debarred from getting private or public contracts in UK for 10 years O0

..that'll learn 'em
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planetmalc

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #47 on: September 12, 2011, 04:21:48 PM »

,,,and they've just got the big London contract.....companies that have shed workers / moved factory abroad in EU, should automatically be debarred from getting private or public contracts in UK for 10 years O0

..that'll learn 'em
   
Well said, Trapio.
 
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Spud

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #48 on: October 11, 2011, 01:32:59 PM »
 I worked for Lucas in their Aerospace Division Shaftmoor Lane for well over 30 years. My first brush with Lucas was in 1955 when I sat an examination to join the Apprentice School which was proably was one of the best of its kind. I did not actually get a place and it was 1967 before I joined Lucas.Even after one morning you realised that you were part of something pretty special.Alright the pay was not that great but the Lucas Pension Scheme was one of most rewarding. Working for Lucas was like being part of a big family.
Of course today it has like many other Brummie Industrial Institutions has disappeared.I bet Joe Lucas is turning over in his Moseley Grave.
Much of the Shaftmoor Lane Site has been demolished leaving just my old stamping ground The Aerospace Factory standing but like the York Rd Electronics Site  is now owned jointly by Rolls Royce and their American Partners Goodrich. Both factories are planned close by 2014 and move to a new site on The Birmingham Business Park.
I have some great memories of old Joe's empire .Going to the Head Office in Gt King Street in 1977 to collect in 100s of Silver Crown Coins one of which was distributed to every employee to celebrate the Queens Jubilee .Remembering Neil Kinnock visiting Shaftmoor and staying for hours just chatting to the blokes on the shop floor. I'm no socialist but he was a lovely man.Visits from the Red Arrows Team.An audit by The US Airforce  who were truly amazed at the skill on show and was heard to say that The Shaftmoor Lane Factory was the best they had  seen outside the US.
I was fortunate to be one of the Team Leaders when Lucas introduced their first computer system.At the time it was the biggest in Europe and for the suppliers IBM a real feather in their cap when it actually worked.
I will never forget my years at Lucas and the privilege of working with some wonderful characters.
My wife also worked for Lucas for 24 years and when we retired together in 1997 yes it was real wrench but by then things had changed. No longer the Family atmosphere just a hard nosed business so perhaps it was high time for a couple of old dinosaurs like us to call it a day. :(   
 
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frankbck

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #49 on: October 12, 2011, 01:46:39 PM »
I left Icknield St School in Hockley in 1957, went to work at a firm in Gt Hampton St, called Lench,s they were toolmakers, only small but I spent a time in despatch and sent stuff all over the world. I went past it a couple of weeks ago, the building is still there but its now some sort of Asian emporium I think, gone the way of a lot of places in recent years.

Spud

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #50 on: October 12, 2011, 02:06:39 PM »
Hi Buster,
I remember Parker Winder and Achurch quite well.In the early sixties I worked for H Dare the builders [they too have gone of course] and Parkers supplied most of the door furniture to housing developments all over the midlands.I seem to remember that Parkers had a Rep named Bob  a smart dapper bloke .Did you ever come across him ?
 I Remember James Motor Cycles. Was there a company almost next door that built snooker Tables
 nearby and of course The Watsonian Sidecar factory was around the corner in Albion Rd. :-\
 
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trapio

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #51 on: October 12, 2011, 05:23:25 PM »
Spud,

You've gift for relating a story as much about Uncle George as your own work and life experiences in brum. You've a fine wey of bringing the hum-drum commonplace to life, of making it breathe your breath, and I enjoy your tales...the more so asI I deened to never spend long anywhere for 40 years - well done and thanks - if you've more, please post them. O0

trapio
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buster

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #52 on: October 16, 2011, 12:22:12 PM »
I was a typist at Parkes and got to know lots of componies I still remember a lot of the address has I did the invoices.When I a going a round on the buses I will see a street name and remember the firms. I do not remember a Bob but we had great fun has we were all young in the typing pool and it was the early sixties.

Akatarawa

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #53 on: October 30, 2013, 08:38:46 AM »
Excuse dredging up this oldish thread, but I found Spuds' recollections of Lucas Gas Turbine at Shaftmoor Lane so interesting.

I too worked there for 5 years as a 'student' apprentice, started in 1956, and after apprenticeship moved to Lucas Group Research

There was certainly some superb high precision manufacture there with some of the finest craftsmen.

I spent quite a while in the toolroom on cutter grinding as they were a cutter grinder short at the time.

A lot of the work was making small parallel and taper reamers on an Oerlikon cutter grinder, the biggest reamer would have been around 3/16", maybe up to 1/4"

The tolerances on diameter were +0.0002" -0.0000".

Eventually I had a complaint from the finishing room where they lapped the cutters to final mirror finish and size.

Most of my reamers were between +0.0000" and +0.0001" on nominal diameter and they didn't have enough material left on for lapping without them going undersize :)

So in effect my working tolerance had to be halved to +0.0001" +0.0002"

The fuel pump swash plates were spherically ground and then lapped on spherical laps to a mirror finish and to within a light band or so.
The pistons were similarly finished to the highest degree.

Yes, precision was abundant at Lucas's  O0



townie

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Re: companies that have gone in Birmingham
« Reply #54 on: November 05, 2013, 08:46:51 PM »
When I first left school I worked for the Co-op Bread Stechford, Co-op Milk Garrets Green in fact lots of companies and I mean a lot. This is when you could walk out of one and into another in your dinner break.. Don't know if i'm a jinks but I think everyone I worked at has gone even British Leyland.
Dennis.
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