Industry | Hydraulic engineering |
---|---|
Founded | 1865 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire |
Successors | Glenfield and Kennedy; Glenfield/AVK Glenfield Invicta |
Headquarters | Kilmarnock , Scotland |
Key people | Thomas Kennedy (snr); Thomas Kennedy |
Owner | AVK Holdings A/S |
Glenfield is a large industrial manufacturing company based in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. At its height it was reckoned to be the largest company of its type in the Commonwealth. [1]
Thomas Kennedy (senior) was a watch and clockmaker, who moved to Kilmarnock in 1824 from Argyleshire. At around that time, he patented the Kennedy Water Meter, which he designed with the help of John Cameron, another watchmaker in Kilmarnock. [2] A valve directs water entering the meter into a cylinder of known volume containing a piston. As the piston rises and falls, the measured quantity of water is expelled and the mechanism is connected to recording dials to track the volume of water used. [3]
In 1863, the Kennedy Patent Water Meter Co Ltd was established on a site formerly used by the Glenfield Printing Works. Two years later, Kennedy established Glenfield Co Ltd on the same site, which specialised in the supply of castings and general foundry work. Kennedy's nephew, also called Thomas Kennedy, directed both companies between 1871 and 1904, when they experienced a period of significant growth. The companies were merged in 1899, to become Glenfield and Kennedy, and became an important hydraulic engineering concern in Britain, with substantial export orders to most parts of the world. [2] The company was affectionately known as ‘The Glen'. [4]
A subsidiary company, the British Pitometer Co Ltd, was established in 1921 and was also based in Kilmarnock. Another subsidiary, Hydrautomat Ltd, was established in 1924 and was based in London. The company was liquidated voluntarily in 1931, and reformed to become Hydrautomat (1931) Ltd. The parent company continued to expand, and acquired Alley & MacLellan Ltd in the 1940s. This company had been founded in 1875 in Brdigetown, Glasgow, and initially manufactured valves. They later diversified into making compressors, vacuum pumps and steam engines, before being taken over by Glenfield and Kennedy. [2]
In 1982 the manufacturing site on Low Glencairn Street was demolished, [5] after a new site had been established on Queens Drive, Kilmarnock.
In 1985, Glenfield and Kennedy was acquired by Biwater, a company which had been founded in 1968 by Adrian White CBE. The name reflected the fact that the company was involved in the treatment of two types of water, clean water for drinking and waste water from sewers. Originally located at Beckenham, once part of Kent but now in Greater London, they transferred to Dorking in Surrey in 1971. The takeover was part of Biwater's policy of buying up established companies in the UK water industry. However, this was a relatively short phase in Glenfield's history, as Biwater sold the valves operation in 1996 and the penstocks and pumps business in 1998. [6]
In 2001, Glenfield Valves became a member of AVK Holdings A/S, and traded as Glenfield/AVK. [4] AVK Holdings is a Danish company founded by Aage Valdemar Kjaer. [7] They are now known as Glenfield Invicta, although they are still owned by AVK Holdings. Invicta were known for site solutions, penstocks and flood defence solutions, while Glenfield produced valves for dams, reservoirs and hydro-electric schemes. [8] Both companies were subsidiaries of AVK Holdings, and they merged their operations on 6 January 2020. [9]
Glenfield and Kennedy were involved in a number of major projects through the years. In the early 1930s they won the contract for the design and construction of Kinloch Rannoch weir for the Grampian Electricity Supply Company. This consists of three flood gates, each 40 feet (12 m) wide, designed to regulate the depth of Loch Rannoch at its outlet to a maximum of 8 feet (2.4 m). [10] The impounded water is used to generate hydro-electric power at Tummel power station, which is located further downstream on the River Tummel. [11]
When the outbreak of war was distinctly possible in 1938, they were approached to manufacture flood gates for the London Underground, as there were fears that bomb damage could result in flooding of the tunnels and the complete disruption of the system. The first floodgate was installed on 1 September 1939, coinciding with the date of the German invasion of Poland. A total of 25 floodgates were quickly installed to protect the nine stations most at risk of serious flooding. These were South Kensington, Embankment, Charing Cross, Waterloo, London Road, London Bridge, Wapping, Bethnal Green and Bank. Fifty stations were identified as needing protection, and Glenfield successfully fitted floodgates at 31 of them without disrupting the train service. Services had to be temporarily suspended while the gates were fitted at the remaining 19 stations, as the engineering work was more extensive. Glenfield used tilting, radial, sliding or lift gates, depending on the requirements of each site. The gates were closed during air raids, and re-opened when the danger of flooding had passed. [12]
They were also involved in the supply of valves for PLUTO, the Pipe Line Under The Ocean associated with World War II's Operation Overlord. The pipelines carried petrol across the English Channel to support the allied invasion of France towards the end of the war. [12]
Kilmarnock is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council. With a population of 46,770, Kilmarnock is the 14th most populated settlement in Scotland and the largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is continuous to nearby neighbouring villages Crookedholm and Hurlford to the east, and Kilmaurs to the west of the town. It includes former villages subsumed by the expansion of the town such as Bonnyton and new purpose built suburbs such as New Farm Loch. The town and the surrounding Greater Kilmarnock area is home to 32 listed buildings and structures designated by Historic Environment Scotland.
Loch Rannoch is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long in a west–east direction with an average width of about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi), and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of 130 metres (440 ft). The River Tummel begins at its eastern end, where the small village of Kinloch Rannoch can be found, whilst the wild expanse of Rannoch Moor extends to the west of the loch. The area surrounding Loch Rannoch, along with Rannoch Moor itself, was formerly part of the native Caledonian Forest that stretched across much of Northern Scotland. Native forest is now largely absent from much of the area, due partly to logging, and partly to the climate becoming wetter, and Loch Rannoch is now largely surrounded by commercial forestry and open hillsides, although a small area remains at the Black Wood of Rannoch on the southern shore of the loch.
The Petty Harbour Hydro Electric Generating Station is a hydroelectric generating station in Petty Harbour–Maddox Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. It was constructed in 1898 and it was the first hydroelectric generating station in Newfoundland. It was built by the St. John's Street Railway Company, a company established by Robert Reid. Operation commenced on 19 April 1900.
New Bullards Bar Dam is a variable radius concrete arch dam constructed in the early 1960s in California on the North Yuba River. Located near the town of Dobbins in Yuba County, the dam forms the New Bullards Bar Reservoir, which can hold about 969,600 acre⋅ft (1.1960×109 m3) of water. The dam serves for irrigation, drinking water and hydroelectric power generation.
Micro hydro is a type of hydroelectric power that typically produces from 5 kW to 100 kW of electricity using the natural flow of water. Installations below 5 kW are called pico hydro. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks, particularly where net metering is offered. There are many of these installations around the world, particularly in developing nations as they can provide an economical source of energy without the purchase of fuel. Micro hydro systems complement solar PV power systems because in many areas water flow, and thus available hydro power, is highest in the winter when solar energy is at a minimum. Micro hydro is frequently accomplished with a pelton wheel for high head, low flow water supply. The installation is often just a small dammed pool, at the top of a waterfall, with several hundred feet of pipe leading to a small generator housing. In low head sites, generally water wheels and Archimedes' screws are used.
Floodgates, also called stop gates, are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and canals, or they may be designed to stop water flow entirely as part of a levee or storm surge system. Since most of these devices operate by controlling the water surface elevation being stored or routed, they are also known as crest gates. In the case of flood bypass systems, floodgates sometimes are also used to lower the water levels in a main river or canal channels by allowing more water to flow into a flood bypass or detention basin when the main river or canal is approaching a flood stage.
Loch Tummel is a long, narrow loch, seven kilometres northwest of Pitlochry in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is fed and drained by the River Tummel, which flows into the River Tay about 13 km (8 mi) south-east of the Clunie Dam at the loch's eastern end.
The Catagunya Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Wayatinah Power Station is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Lower River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Tungatinah Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Upper River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Tummel hydro-electric power scheme is an interconnected network of dams, power stations, aqueducts and electric power transmission in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland. Roughly bounded by Dalwhinnie in the north, Rannoch Moor in the west and Pitlochry in the east it comprises a water catchment area of around 1,800 square kilometres and primary water storage at Loch Ericht, Loch Errochty, Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel, in Perth and Kinross. Water, depending on where it originates and the path it takes, may pass through as many as five of the schemes nine power stations as it progresses from north-west to south-east. The scheme was constructed in the 1940s and 50s incorporating some earlier sites. It is managed by SSE plc.
Dunalastair Water is an entirely man made reservoir in Scotland which lies between Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel in Strath Tummel in Perth and Kinross council area. The loch provides water power for the Tummel hydroelectricity power station and has the reputation as one of the best wild trout fishing locations in the United Kingdom.
The Ponmudi Dam is a concrete gravity dam built across the Panniyar river which is a tributary of Periyar river at Konnathady panchayath of Konnathadi village in Idukki district of Kerala, India. The dam was constructed in 1963 as a part of a hydroelectric project. Construction was led by E.U.Philipose, Superintending Engineer, Kerala State Electricity Board. It has a length of 288.80 metres (947.5 ft). The hydropower component of the dam has an installed capacity of 30 MW with firm power of 17 MW, generating 158 GWh annually. Taluks through which the river flow are Udumbanchola, Devikulam, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunadu, Aluva, Kodungalloor and Paravur.
Edmund Bruce Ball FRSE was an English hydraulic engineer. He specialised in the storage and distribution of water.
Mueller Co. is a Chattanooga, Tennessee based industrial manufacturing group that manufactures fire hydrants, gate valves, and other water distribution products. Mueller Co. which moved to Chattanooga from Decatur, Illinois in 2010, is the largest supplier of potable water distribution products in North America. Mueller Co. is a subsidiary of Mueller Water Products, Inc. A manufacturing facility remains in Decatur.
The Bihai Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant in Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan.
The Pupu Hydro Power Scheme is a small hydroelectric power station near Tākaka in the Golden Bay region of the South Island of New Zealand. It opened in 1929 as the first power station in the region and was the first public electricity supply in Golden Bay. After closing in 1980 following damage to the generator, the power scheme was fully restored by the local Pupu Hydro Society and many volunteer groups over the course of seven years and re-opened in 1988, again supplying electricity to the national grid.
The Erathna Mini Hydro Power Project is one of the run of river mini hydro power projects in Sri Lanka which has the install capacity of 10 MW. The project is located on the Kuru Ganga, a tributary of the Kalu Ganga.
Marjorie Jean Oswald Kennedy was a Scottish librarian who worked at the Bletchley Park code-breaking base during the Second World War and was the moving force behind the creation of The Rock Trust, a Scottish charity for young homeless people.
Kakki Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Kakki river, a tributary of the Pampa river in the Ranni forest in the Seethathodu panchayat of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, India. The dam is located in a forested area adjacent to the Periyar National Park. It was built in 1966 as part of the Sabarigiri Hydroelectric Project. The water sources of the dam are from the Pampa dam and the Kakki river. The Sabarigiri project envisaged creation of two reservoirs which are Pamba and Kakki reservoirs and connecting these together to form a single source of water. The water from Pamba reservoir is connected to the Kakki reservoir through an underground tunnel of length 3.21 km. The intake of the Sabarigiri Powerhouse is from Kakki reservoir. The dam is 336 metres (1,102 ft) long and 116 metres (381 ft) high and is located at an elevation of 981.45 metres (3,220.0 ft) above sea level. The release flows through Ranni, Konni, Kozhencherry, Thiruvalla, Chengannur, Kuttanadu, Mavelikara and Karthikappally taluks before emptying into the Vembanad lake.