Grace's Guide To British Industrial History
Registered UK Charity (No. 1154342)Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains167,701 pages of information and247,103 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 contains147,919 pages of information and233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.
Pulp and paper machinery makers and engineers, of Atlas Works, Bury.
Maker of stationary engines.[1]
1866Charles Walmsley and Co was established as pulp and paper machinery makers.
1892 Limited company.
1932 AcquiredBentley and Jackson, maker of machinery for bleaching and paper making, especially for access to its foundry to be used for making large cylinders.
1933Walmsleys (Bury) Ltd was incorporated as a public company to acquireCharles Walmsley and Co Ltd. Their wide high speed newsprint machine was capable of making 100 tons per day. At least 75 percent of newsprint made in the UK was produced on Walmsley machines.[2]
1949 AGM. The Walmsley group of companies consisted of[3]:
- Walmsleys (Bury)
- Bentley and Jackson
- Ashworth and Parker
- Walker Brothers (Wigan)
- John Wood and Sons of Wigan
1954 Walmsleys (Bury) was a private company which was part of theWalmsleys (Bury) Group Ltd, a public company.
1957Walmsley acquired a 50 percent interest in a joint venture withMasson, Scott and Co to make wider winders; formation of a joint sales company.[4]
1958 Increased investment in R&D, especially at the wet end of the paper process.[5]
1961 Paper makers' engineers and manufacturers.[6]
1971 Beloit Corporation of USA received "A" shares in the company which could be converted in 1975 to give it control.[7]
1975 Almost all of the profit had been earned by the Italian subsidiary; the UK operation had suffered from the effects of inflation and production problems; the demand for paper making machinery was depressed.[8]
1975 Acquired by Beloit of USA, to produce a world-competitive group in paper making machinery,Beloit Walmsley.[9]
In the mid-1970s, the company had factories in Bolton and Wigan. Manufacturing finally ceased in Bury in 1984. When Beloit's owners, Harnischfeger Industries, ran into trouble in 2000, the factory went into receivership before being acquired by Sandusky International, based in Sandusky, Ohio. The buisness finally closed in 2006.[10]