Suppliers

Bakelite was invented in 1907 by Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland. It was the world’s first plastic made entirely from synthetic materials, without relying on anything naturally occurring.

It was created by combining phenol (a substance derived from coal tar) with formaldehyde (a colourless, strong-smelling gas often used in building materials and disinfectants). When heated together, these chemicals formed a resin that permanently hardened, giving Bakelite its tough and durable properties.

The result was a material that was:

Strong and heat-resistant
Non-conductive, ideal for electrical use
Chemically stable and water-resistant

These qualities made Bakelite incredibly useful, especially in the early 20th century. While many people might recognise it from old light switches and power fittings still seen in older homes, it was used for much more, including:

Electrical insulation and switchgear
Car parts
Jewellery and costume accessories
Kitchenware and household items

Bakelite was the first plastic to be mass-produced, paving the way for the modern plastics industry.

Although it’s largely been replaced by newer materials since, Bakelite remains popular among collectors, especially for Art Deco designs and vintage jewellery.

Joseph Blakeborough & Sons Ltd was a British engineering company best known for manufacturing industrial valves and flow control systems.

Founded in 1878 in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, the company built a strong reputation supplying heavy-duty valves for steam, gas, oil, and water. Their products were widely used in industries like power generation, chemical plants, and water infrastructure.

Blakeborough’s valve range included:

Gate valves
Globe valves
Butterfly valves
Control valves
Steam and pressure regulators

Made from cast iron and steel, their valves were valued for their strength, reliability, and precision, especially in high-pressure environments.

In 1965, the company was taken over by Hopkinsons Holdings Ltd, another well-known valve manufacturer based in nearby Huddersfield. It later became part of the Weir Group, a major UK engineering firm.

A fire in 1986 caused significant damage to Blakeborough’s facilities and made an already challenging financial situation worse. In 1987, they partnered with Wolstenholme Valves in an effort to recover but the business couldn’t be saved. Operations ceased in 1989.

After closure, various parts of the company, including its product designs and manufacturing rights, were acquired by other firms such as:

GA Valves
Hopkinsons
Blackhall Engineering

Despite the company’s closure, many original Blakeborough valves are still in service today due to their robust construction and long lifespan.

Dorman & Smith Ltd, specialists in low-voltage electrical switchgear and distribution systems, was founded on 25 March 1886 by engineers Charles Mark Dorman and Reginald Arthur Smith. The British company became internationally renowned for its significant contributions to the development of electrical engineering.

The company’s origins date back to 1878 when Dorman and Smith acquired an early electric lighting business. From these beginnings, they grew to become pioneers in electrical engineering, focusing on circuit protection, fuse boards, and switchgear systems. By the early 20th century, Dorman & Smith had become a leading name in the UK’s electrical manufacturing industry.

During the Second World War, the company contributed to the war effort by manufacturing anti-submarine radar equipment and other vital military technologies, supporting the Allied forces with critical electrical components.

The Dorman & Smith legacy continues today through Dorman Smith Switchgear Limited, which operates from its headquarters in Braintree, Essex.

Federal Electric Holdings Ltd

Federal Electric Holdings Ltd was founded on 18 April 1958 as an associate company of the Electric Construction Company Ltd (E.C.C.), a prominent British electrical engineering firm. The new company focused on producing medium-voltage switchgear, fuse switches, and moulded case air circuit breakers for use in industrial and commercial settings.

Manufacturing began in 1959 at a dedicated facility on Fordhouse Road in Wolverhampton. At its peak in the 1960s, Federal Electric and E.C.C. together employed around 2,000 people.

However, by the late 1960s and into the 1970s, the company faced increasing financial challenges due to rising competition from cheaper imported electrical components. In response to these pressures, E.C.C. was acquired by Aberdare Holdings, and Federal Electric gradually shifted away from manufacturing to become a holding company.

E.C.C. was later absorbed into the Hawker Siddeley Group and the Wolverhampton factory eventually closed in 1985.

In 1978, Federal Electric changed its name to Federal Electric Limited. It’s common for companies to use the term “Holdings” in their name when operating as subsidiaries or offshoots of larger parent firms.

Today, Federal Electric Limited is a private holding company owned by Schneider Electric (UK) Limited, part of a global leader in energy management and automation. Although it no longer manufactures electrical equipment, Federal Electric remains a part of the UK’s industrial heritage.

GEC began in 1886, founded by Gustav Binswanger and Hugo Hirst as the General Electric Apparatus Company in London. The business initially operated as a wholesaler of electrical goods. By 1889, it became the General Electric Company Ltd, and in 1900 it was listed as a public limited company.

The company’s early success grew with ventures like Osram, established in 1909, which became a leading manufacturer of electric lamps.

With the outbreak of World War I, GEC expanded its operations to supply radios, signal lamps, and searchlights to the military. Between the two world wars, the company diversified into heavy engineering and played a key role in developing the UK’s National Grid.

The National Grid is a high-voltage transmission network that connects power stations across Great Britain. It allows electricity to be transmitted over long distances and distributed reliably to homes, businesses, and industries.

During World War II, GEC was instrumental in developing radar technology, most notably the cavity magnetron and continued to supply vital electrical equipment to support the war effort.

A cavity magnetron is a type of vacuum tube that creates powerful microwave radio signals, usually between 1 and 30 GHz. Invented in the 1940s, it was a breakthrough that played a vital role in developing radar technology during World War II.

In the decades that followed, GEC went through a series of major mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the 1960s, as the company worked to streamline its operations and boost profitability. This included acquiring Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) in 1967 and English Electric in 1968, bringing major companies like Marconi and Elliott under the GEC umbrella. AEI had earlier merged with British Thomson-Houston (BTH) (1928) and Metropolitan-Vickers (1929) electrical engineering companies.

By the 1980s, GEC had grown into the UK’s largest private employer, with a workforce of over 250,000 people.

In 1999, GEC sold its defence division, Marconi Electronic Systems, to British Aerospace, which then became part of the newly formed BAE Systems. The remainder of the business was renamed Marconi PLC, shifting its focus to the telecommunications industry. However, the collapse of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s led to severe financial difficulties and major restructuring.

The dot-com bubble was a major stock market crash that happened between 2000 and 2002, mainly impacting technology and internet companies.

In 2005, most of Marconi’s assets were acquired by Ericsson, and the remaining parts of the company were rebranded as Telent. While GEC no longer exists, its legacy lives on through its significant contributions to industrial and technological progress in the UK and around the world.

Hopkinsons Ltd was founded in 1843 by Joseph Hopkinson in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

The company quickly built a reputation for producing high-quality valves and boiler safety devices. One of their early innovations, the Compound Safety Valve, made steam boilers much safer during the 19th century.

As the business grew, Hopkinsons opened a larger facility at Britannia Works in Birkby in 1904. By the early 1900s, they had expanded internationally with depots and showrooms in 30 cities around the world.

In 1989, the company was acquired by the Weir Group and became part of its Valves & Control division.

Then in July 2019, Hopkinsons became part of Trillium Flow Technologies after the Weir Group sold off its Flow Control business. Today, Hopkinsons continues to manufacture industrial valves under the Trillium name, carrying on its long legacy of engineering excellence.

Joseph Blakeborough & Sons Ltd was a British engineering company best known for manufacturing industrial valves and flow control systems.

Blakeborough’s valve range included:

Gate valves
Globe valves
Butterfly valves
Control valves
Steam and pressure regulators

Made from cast iron and steel, their valves were valued for their strength, reliability, and precision, especially in high-pressure environments.

After closure, various parts of the company, including its product designs and manufacturing rights, were acquired by other firms such as:

GA Valves
Hopkinsons
Blackhall Engineering

Despite the company’s closure, many original Blakeborough valves are still in service today due to their robust construction and long lifespan.

Relays Ptd Ltd

Relays Pty Ltd was founded in 1955 as an Australian electrical engineering company, specialising in protection and control equipment. Their products were widely used in power stations, substations and industrial facilities across the country.

Devices branded Relays Pty Ltd or RPL typically date from the 1950s to the 1970s and are known for their durability and reliability in high-voltage environments.

The company was later acquired by Email Ltd, one of Australia’s major electrical manufacturers at the time.

As part of a corporate restructure, the business was incorporated as Relay Monitoring Systems Pty Ltd (RMS) on 27 June 1991. Under this new name, RMS focused on designing and manufacturing advanced electrical systems, including:

Auxiliary and trip relays
Arc flash protection devices
Industrial control relays
Panel meters

In December 2015, RMS was acquired by Wabtec Corporation, a U.S.-based technology company serving the rail and industrial sectors. RMS now operates as part of Wabtec’s Mors Smitt Division, which continues to provide relay and monitoring solutions around the world.

Some of their plug-in electrical protection relay, like the ones that can be found in the East Perth Power Station, are designed for use in switchboards to perform functions such as:

Overcurrent protection
Trip circuit supervision
Breaker control and interlocking

These types of relays were typically installed in high-voltage substations and power station switchboards, often found in systems supplied by manufacturers like Metropolitan-Vickers, GEC, and AEI.

Label breakdown:

GRPL – General Relay Product Line
DS2 – A common coil type used in plug-in relays
6R – Six-relay configuration

Although considered legacy equipment, relays like these remain in service today in older substations and industrial switchyards due to their robust mechanical design.

Distributor

Atkins (W.A.) Ltd traces its roots back to Charles Atkins & Company, a South Australian firm that expanded into Western Australia during the 1890s gold rush. By 1908, they were operating from 20 Queen Street, Perth.

In 1911, the Western Australian branch became independent, adopting the name Charles Atkins & Company (W.A.) Ltd. This was later shortened to Atkins (W.A.) Ltd in 1925.

Atkins supplied a broad range of electrical and engineering equipment, acting as a local agent for international brands and importing overseas products. From 1914 to at least 1963, they operated from Mazda House at 894 Hay Street, Perth.

In May 1971, Atkins (W.A.) Ltd merged with Carlyle Holdings Limited, forming Atkins Carlyle Ltd.

Later on 1 October 2001, parts of the company’s traditional business units were sold off, and the remaining operations were rebranded as Alesco Corporation Limited, shifting their focus to higher-margin product sectors.

H. Rowe & Co. Pty Ltd was founded in 1901 by Henry Rowe in Melbourne. Starting out as an electrical contracting business during the early years of electricity in Australia, the company quickly grew and began importing and distributing electrical products.

Over time, their product range expanded to include:

Time switches and thermostats
Sockets and control gear
Electric stoves, heaters and even a refrigerator-dryer combination
Radios and stereo amplifiers, sold under the Peak brand.

As the business grew, branches were established in Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane. The Perth branch opened in February 1954, located at 69 St Georges Terrace.

To strengthen its position in the commercial appliance market, H. Rowe & Co. later merged with Hecla Electrics Pty Ltd, forming Hecla Rowe Manufacturing Pty Ltd.

In 1981, the company was acquired by Oliver J. Nilsen (Australia) Ltd and became Nilsen Rowe (Australia) Pty Ltd.

W.T. Glover & Co Ltd

W.T. Glover & Co Ltd was founded in 1868 by Walter T. Glover, a machinery agent based in Salford, England. The company grew into one of Britain’s leading manufacturers of electric cables, helping build the electrical networks that powered cities and industries from the late 1800s through much of the 20th century.

In the early days, Glover produced simple cotton-covered and braided copper wires used for bells, telephones, and signalling systems. As electricity became more widespread — especially for lighting — the company expanded into making tougher and safer products like rubber-insulated wires, waterproof tape, and by the 1880s, lead-covered cables that could be buried underground.

A major breakthrough came in 1887, when Glover was chosen to supply electricity for the Royal Jubilee Exhibition in Old Trafford — one of the largest lighting projects in Europe at the time.

In 1898, the company moved into a new, purpose-built factory at Trafford Park in Manchester. From there, it supplied cables not just across Britain but to customers around the world. By 1908, Glover had supplied nearly 200 mining operations with specialist flexible cables designed to handle tough conditions underground.

By the early 1900s, Glover had built a worldwide reputation. During both World Wars, the company played a vital role by supplying military-grade cables. One of its most important contributions was producing armoured lead pipes for Operation PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) — a top-secret project that delivered fuel from England to Allied forces in France after D-Day.

After the war, the company continued to innovate, developing high-voltage underwater cables that linked England to France and even connected New Zealand’s North and South Islands.

But like many traditional manufacturers, W.T. Glover eventually faced growing competition. It became part of the British Insulated Cables Company (BICC) and its Trafford Park factory closed in 1970.

After more than 150 years in business, W.T. Glover & Co Ltd was officially dissolved on 30 March 2021 — leaving behind a lasting legacy in the history of electrical engineering.

Home