John Thompson (company)

Last updated

John Thompson
Company type Public
Industry Engineering
Founded1820
Defunct2004
FateAcquired
Successor Clarke Chapman
Headquarters Wolverhampton, UK
ProductsNuclear engineering
Boilers
Pressure vessels

John Thompson Limited was a major engineering business based in Wolverhampton, in its latter years offering products for the nuclear engineering industry.

Contents

History

The company was founded by William Thompson, in or around 1820, in Wolverhampton, as a general engineering business. [1] In 1850, the business passed to William's brother, Stephen, and in 1860, it passed to William's son, John. Within ten years it was concentrating on manufacturing boilers. [1]

By 1914, the company had expanded into motor pressings. During World War I it made cowlings for Sopwith aircraft and, in World War II, it made airscrews for Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft. [1]

In the 1950s, as part of a consortium with AEI, the company was awarded a contract to supply boilers and reactor pressure vessels for the Berkeley nuclear power station. [2]

In 1970, the business was acquired by Clarke Chapman [3] and, in 2004, the Ettingshall Works was closed. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English Electric</span> British industrial manufacturer, 1918–1968

The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the armistice ending the fighting of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi Heavy Industries</span> Japanese multinational corporation

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Motors.

Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was incorporated in 1934, although its origins in aircraft manufacturing began earlier in 1914 and lasted until 1961. The company mainly built and modified aircraft under contract to other manufacturers, but had a few notable designs of its own, such as the Defiant fighter and the Balliol trainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boulton & Paul Ltd</span> Defunct aircraft manufacturer in Norwich, England

Boulton & Paul Ltd was a British general manufacturer from Norwich, England that became involved in aircraft manufacture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruston & Hornsby</span> British industrial equipment manufacturer, 1918–1966

Ruston & Hornsby was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England founded in 1918. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam locomotives and a range of internal combustion engines, and later gas turbines. It is now a subsidiary of Siemens.

Combustion Engineering (C-E) was a multi-national American-based engineering firm that developed nuclear steam supply power systems in the United States. Originally headquartered in New York City, C-E moved its corporate offices to Stamford, Connecticut in 1973. C-E owned over three dozen other companies including Lummus Company, National Tank Company and the Morgan Door Company. The company was acquired by Asea Brown Boveri in early 1990. The boiler and fossil fuel businesses were purchased by Alstom in 2000, and the nuclear business was purchased by Westinghouse Electric Company also in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bold, St Helens</span> Human settlement in England

Bold is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, England. Bold itself is situated to the south east of St Helens, near to the boundaries with Halton and Warrington. The parish extends southwards beyond the M62 motorway and includes the hamlet of Bold Heath along with the Clock Face and New Bold area of St Helens. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 3,410 at the 2011 Census

B. Hick and Sons, subsequently Hick, Hargreaves & Co, was a British engineering company based at the Soho Ironworks in Bolton, England. Benjamin Hick, a partner in Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell, later Rothwell, Hick & Co., set up the company in partnership with two of his sons, John (1815–1894) and Benjamin Jr (1818–1845) in 1833.

Babcock International Group plc is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and Network Rail. The company has four operating sectors, with overseas operations based in Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Woodrow Construction</span> UK construction firm

Taylor Woodrow Construction, branded as Taylor Woodrow, is a UK-based civil engineering contractor and one of four operating divisions of Vinci Construction UK. The business was launched in 2011, combining civil engineering operations from the former Taylor Woodrow group and from Vinci UK - formerly Norwest Holst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley nuclear power station</span> Decommissioned nuclear power plant in England

Berkeley nuclear power station is a former Magnox nuclear power station situated on the bank of the River Severn in Gloucestershire, England. The ongoing decommissioning process is being managed by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority subsidiary Magnox Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Kennedy</span> British civil and electrical engineer and academic

Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy FRS, FRGS, better known simply as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic. A member of many institutions and the recipient of three honorary doctorates, Kennedy was also an avid mountaineer and a keen amateur photographer being one of the first to document the archaeological site of Petra in Jordan following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarke Chapman</span> British engineering firm

Clarke Chapman is a British engineering firm based in Gateshead, which was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mather & Platt</span>

Mather & Platt is the name of several large engineering firms in Europe, South Africa and Asia that are subsidiaries of Wilo SE, Germany or were founded by former employees. The original company was founded in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, England, where it was a major employer. That firm continues as a food processing and packaging business, trading as M & P Engineering in Trafford Park, Manchester.

Markham & Co. was an ironworks and steelworks company near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England.

Bold Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations in Bold near St Helens, Merseyside, North West England. They were closed, decommissioned and demolished between 1981 and 1992, and a housing estate now occupies the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.B. (Thompson Brothers)</span> Motor vehicle

T.B. was a three-wheeled cyclecar manufactured by the aircraft department of Thompson Brothers of Bilston, England, from 1919 until 1924. A prototype four-wheel car never entered production. Approximately 150 cars were produced of which only one example is believed to have survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transfield Holdings</span> Australian investment company

Transfield Holdings is a privately owned Australian investment company with experience in industrial services, infrastructure, and renewable energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robey & Co</span>

Robey and Co. was an engineering company based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England which can be traced back to around 1849.

Ducol or "D"-steel is the name of a number of high-strength low-alloy steels of varying composition, first developed from the early 1920s by the Scottish firm of David Colville & Sons, Motherwell.

References