This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2010) |
![]() | |
Industry | Engineering and Manufacturing |
---|---|
Founded | 1801 |
Founder | John Holman |
Defunct | 1968 |
Fate | merged with Broom and Wade |
Successor | CompAir |
Headquarters | Camborne, Cornwall, England |
Products | rock drills & air compressors |
Number of employees | 2,000 |
Subsidiaries | Climax Mining Equipment |
Holman Brothers Ltd. was a mining equipment manufacturer founded in 1801 based in Camborne, Cornwall, England.
Holman was Camborne's, and indeed Cornwall's largest manufacturer of industrial equipment. Holman played a part in World War II making the Polish designed 20mm Polsten gun, similar to the Oerlikon but simpler to build and use. It also produced the Holman Projector for the Royal Navy.
At its height Holmans was spread over three sites within Camborne, employing some three and half thousand people.
Cornish mining is renowned worldwide. Alongside the mining industry there evolved an industry manufacturing specialised mining equipment. Holman's founder, Nicholas Holman started a boiler works in 1801. [1]
The company expanded to develop subsidiary companies in centres of mining all over the world and at one stage approximately 80% of products were exported.
1881-The brothers John Henry and James Miners Holman, had taken over running the business from their father John. [2] They were offered the designs of a new rock drill by a James McCulloch. the brothers filed a joint patent with McCulloch, and began to manufacture the new drill. [3] It became known as the "Cornish Rock Drill", and achieved great commercial success.
1882-The rock drill was at work at Dolcoath, Tincroft, East Pool, South Crofty, at Falmouth Docks and in mines in South Wales. The demand grew rapidly.
1896-More than 1,000 Cornish rock drills were in use on The South African Rand alone. By the turn of the 20th century the number had doubled. Most of these drills came from Holman in Camborne.
1910-The company took first and third prizes in a World Rock Drilling Contest, sponsored by the South African Chamber of Commerce.
Later, the Holman Silver 303 Airleg was used all over the world for mine development.
As well as the rock drills, the company also produced drill rigs and developed 'down the hole' drill primarily for quarrying. The company developed a hydraulic breaker, known as the Holbuster, but was ahead of its time and it was not a commercial success. Later developed by others, it is now a common sight.
The first successful drills were the piston type, or "reciprocators." The drill steel piston and chuck moved together and reciprocated. In Leyner's hammer drill the steel was held loosely in a chuck attached to the cylinder itself, while the piston inside the cylinder reciprocated, striking blows on the blunt end of the drill steel. The hammer drill was lighter, speedier, and used less air than the reciprocating drill.
Leyners earlier drills used a blast of air blown through a hollowed or channelled drill steel to keep the drill holes clear of rock chippings: these drills, however, raised too much dust. To overcome this Leyner introduced water along the drill together with the blast of air. This machine soon ousted the previous one, and was taken up by the Holman factory on a large scale.
Holman began to manufacture compressors. The first "Cornish" compressors were built to designs adapted from existing steam engines.
1894-Holman manufactured the largest compressor plant ever used in Cornwall. Installed at Carn Brea Mine. [4]
1945-Holman employed Jim Hodge who had worked with Whittle to develop the first jet engines to design a jet engine driving extra compressor stages to create a very compact high output compressor for portable use. The parts were mostly made in the company's tool room. Like the Rover jet car of the same era, the excessive fuel consumption made the project non-viable. It was largely the investment in this project which forced the company from being a private family owned business into a public limited company with significant outside investors. 1954 or thereabouts Holman Bros took over the Climax Rock Drill and Engineering Works formerly Stephens Iron foundry. 1959-Holman introduced the Rotair, Britain's first single stage oil flooded rotary screw compressor. 1961 Trade names included Holbit rock drill steels, Dustuctor – a dust containment system, Goodyear Pumps which used an Archemedies screw principle with a meshing disc which was capable of pumping strawberry jam without crushing the strawberries, Tractair – a compressor mounted on the PTO of a tractor, Rotair, Maxam – Maxam Power ltd who produced pneumatic control components.
1968-A merger took place with Broomwade to form CompAir Holman. [5] The ownership of the group then passed to Imperial Continental Gas which included Calor Gas. The group rather drifted during this period before being sold to the Siebe Group which proceeded to asset strip the group.
By May 2003 "Portable Compressor manufacturer CompAir, which employs 184 people in West Cornwall, announced earlier this month that increasing international competition meant it was intending to close its Camborne operation by September. It has begun a 90-day consultation period with staff. "
The manufacturing operation was transferred to the Simmern works in Germany formerly owned by Mannesman Demag before its purchase by CompAir. The CompAir Group has now (2012) been bought by Gardner Denver along with a number of other British compressor related companies. Compressor manufacture in Germany continues.
An air compressor is a machine that takes ambient air from the surroundings and discharges it at a higher pressure. It is an application of a gas compressor, and a pneumatic device that converts mechanical power into potential energy stored in compressed air, which has many uses. A common application is to compress air into a storage tank, for immediate or later use. When the delivery pressure reaches its set upper limit, the compressor is shut off, or the excess air is released through an overpressure valve. The compressed air is stored in the tank until it is needed. The pressure energy provided by the compressed air can be used for a variety of applications such as pneumatic tools as it is released. When tank pressure reaches its lower limit, the air compressor turns on again and re-pressurizes the tank. A compressor is different from a pump because it works on a gas, while pumps work on a liquid.
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He was an early pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport, and his most significant contributions were the development of the first high-pressure steam engine and the first working railway steam locomotive. The world's first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place on 21 February 1804, when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
Camborne is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove.
A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor.
A jackhammer is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady King. Hand-held jackhammers are generally powered by compressed air, but some are also powered by electric motors. Larger jackhammers, such as rig-mounted hammers used on construction machinery, are usually hydraulically powered. These tools are typically used to break up rock, pavement, and concrete.
A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person and such are called augers. Drilling rigs can sample subsurface mineral deposits, test rock, soil and groundwater physical properties, and also can be used to install sub-surface fabrications, such as underground utilities, instrumentation, tunnels or wells. Drilling rigs can be mobile equipment mounted on trucks, tracks or trailers, or more permanent land or marine-based structures. The term "rig" therefore generally refers to the complex equipment that is used to penetrate the surface of the Earth's crust.
Hayle is a port town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance.
Geevor Tin Mine, formerly North Levant Mine is a tin mine in the far west of Cornwall, England, between the villages of Pendeen and Trewellard. It was operational between 1911 and 1990 during which time it produced about 50,000 tons of black tin. It is now a museum and heritage centre left as a living history of a working tin mine. The museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. Since 2006, the mine has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
Camborne School of Mines, commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment. It has undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes within the Earth resources, civil engineering and environmental sectors. CSM is located at the Penryn Campus, near Falmouth, Cornwall, UK. The school merged with the University of Exeter in 1993.
A Cornish engine is a type of steam engine developed in Cornwall, England, mainly for pumping water from a mine. It is a form of beam engine that uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier engines designed by James Watt. The engines were also used for powering man engines to assist the underground miners' journeys to and from their working levels, for winching materials into and out of the mine, and for powering on-site ore stamping machinery.
A drifter drill, sometimes called a rock drill, is a tool used in mining and civil engineering to drill into rock. Rock drills are used for making holes for placing dynamite or other explosives in rock blasting, and holes for plug and feather quarrying.
CompAir is an engineering and manufacturing company specialising in compressed air and gas systems. It is a division of NYSE-listed Ingersoll Rand.
Pool is a village in Carn Brea civil parish in west Cornwall, England. It is bypassed by the A30, on the A3047 between Camborne and Redruth, between Tuckingmill and Illogan Highway.
Camborne RFC was established in 1878, known locally by fans as 'Town', are one of the most famous rugby union clubs in Cornwall. They are currently champions of Regional 1 South West, a level five league in the English rugby union system and are promoted to National League 2 West.
South Crofty is a metalliferous tin and copper mine located in the village of Pool, Cornwall, England. An ancient mine, it has seen production for over 400 years, and extends almost two and a half miles across and 3,000 feet (910 m) down and has mined over 40 lodes. Evidence of mining activity in South Crofty has been dated back to 1592, with full-scale mining beginning in the mid-17th century. The mine went into serious decline after 1985 and eventually closed in 1998. After several changes of ownership, South Crofty is owned by Cornish Metals Inc, which is working to re-open the mine, as of November 2022, having receive a permit for dewatering the mine.
A steam cannon is a cannon that launches a projectile using only heat and water, or using a ready supply of high-pressure steam from a boiler. The first steam cannon was designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse. Leonardo da Vinci was also known to have designed one.
The Cornish Institute of Engineers (CIE) was founded in 1913 by the then Principal of the Camborne School of Mines, J.J. Beringer. Its first President, Josiah Paul, was appointed on 1 March 1913. It is the only institute in Cornwall and maintains a continuous programme of lectures. The origins of the Institute go back to the Camborne Association of Engineers, a small but prestigious body existing in the early years of the 20th century and composed mainly of mechanical engineers. Since 2011, the CIE has been affiliated with the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
The Trevithick Society is a registered charity named for Richard Trevithick, a Cornish engineer who contributed to the use of high pressure steam engines for transportation and mining applications.
Chicago Pneumatic, also known as "CP", is an industrial manufacturer providing power tools, air compressors, generators, light towers and hydraulic equipment. Products are sold in more than 150 countries through a worldwide distribution network. CP is active on markets such as tools for industrial production, vehicle service, maintenance repair operation for mining, construction, infrastructure equipment.
Sullair is a major American manufacturer of portable and stationary rotary screw air compressors designed for commercial and industrial use. Founded in 1965 in the town of Michigan City, Indiana U.S.A., Sullair has manufacturing facilities in Michigan City that distribute and service air compressor packages and systems worldwide. Sullair also has manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, Jiangsu and Shenzhen, Guangdong China that service the Asian and Australasian markets. Sullair also has offices in Dandenong South, Australia near Melbourne, and in Sunderland, United Kingdom that services markets in the EMEA and Russia.