Morphy Richards

Last updated

Morphy Richards
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Home appliances
Founded8 July 1936
HeadquartersTalbot Road, Swinton, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Area served
Australia, United Kingdom, India, Israel
Key people
CEO: Vicky Philemon
Parent Glen Dimplex
Website www.morphyrichards.com

Morphy Richards is a British brand of electrical appliances headquartered in Swinton, in South Yorkshire, England. Its products were formerly made at its historic home of Mexborough, and in other facilities across the United Kingdom. However, since the 1990s, all of its manufacturing is now carried out in the Far East. [1]

Contents

Product range

Morphy Richards specialises in toasters, hair dryers, bread makers, kettles and sandwich toasters and other appliances. In its early stage it also made refrigerators and washer-dryers, but these would later be made by Hotpoint. It is owned by the Irish Glen Dimplex electronics group. They also make Digital Radio Mondiale-compatible digital radios and also the dry iron, one of very few companies to do so. [2]

History

A 1950s Morphy-Richards iron with original box Morphy richards iron 1950.JPG
A 1950s Morphy-Richards iron with original box

Donal Morphy of Chislehurst and Charles Richards of Farnborough, Kent, had met whilst working at Sydney S Bird and Sons [3] formed Morphy-Richards Ltd on 8 July 1936 at an oast house in St Mary Cray in Kent. Morphy and Richards were joint managing directors, and had raised £1,000. It began making electric fires, and from March 1938, it made electric irons. During the war, its factories made components for the aircraft industry.

A. Reyrolle & Company took 30% of the company in June 1944 and their General Manager was on the board of directors. Exports accounted for around 15% of turnover, helped by subsidiary companies in Australia and South Africa. It later opened a Canadian subsidiary. The company was producing around 2,000 irons per day.

On 1 May 1947, it became a public company and merged with Astral Equipment Ltd, a company in Dundee, Scotland that made spin dryers and refrigerators. Astral became a wholly owned subsidiary. George Wansbrough was the company chairman from 1944 to 1954.

In 1949, it produced its first automatic toaster which used a bi-metallic strip. It also produced the Simon electric floor scrubber. In 1953, it produced its first hairdryer and claimed to have 90% of the market six years later, as it sold very well. In 1954 it introduced a steam iron; these were still comparatively revolutionary twenty years later.

At the same time, it introduced electrical convector heaters and panel heaters (ceramic heaters). By 1957, it was the United Kingdom's leading provider of electric blankets, had produced its 10 millionth electric iron, and was producing 60% of the toasters made in the United Kingdom.

It had bought Yelsen Ltd, a manufacturer of electric blankets at Ruxley in Kent, on 16 June 1957 for £112,000, which became a subsidiary. Also in June, new factories opened at the main site and Dundee. 40% of products were exported and overseas subsidiaries had been established. Morphy did not like the huge expansion of the company, but Richards thought it was too slow. Sir Patrick Bishop became chairman in 1957.

EMI

Morphy sold his share of the company to EMI (Electric and Musical Industries) in August 1960, who then tried to take over the company, as did Philips Electrical Industries. On the board of directors, Morphy supported the EMI offer, but Richards did not. EMI took over the company in September 1960. In the late 1950s the company had developed the Silavent ventilation system, [4] manufactured for them by Robert McArd & Co.

In December 1960, the Chairman, Sir Patrick Bishop, resigned and Richards left the board. Morphy also left as managing director, but stayed on the board. Graham Hurst became managing director. By March 1961, Richards had joined GEC as joint managing director of their electrical appliance division. On 12 May 1961, a new £500,000 factory at Dundee built by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts was opened by Richard Wood, Baron Holderness, then the Minister of Power.

The Dundee site was managed by Willis Roxburgh until July 1966, and produced around a quarter of all fridges in the United Kingdom. By 1962 it was exporting to over 120 countries. In August 1962, the company appointed Faber Birren to give advice on colours of products. On 7 December 1962, Richards joined the board of directors of GEC.

In October 1963, it took over the record player division of EMI. On 15 November 1964, Charles Richards died aged 64 at his house in Buckinghamshire. In February 1965 there were discussions with English Electric to merge their large appliance divisions. In April 1965 Norman Tomlinson became managing director.

GEC

On 26 May 1966, EMI and AEI, owners of Hotpoint, decided to merge their domestic appliance divisions to form British Domestic Appliances (BDA) from 1 July 1966. Morphy Richards was employing about 4,000 people. The headquarters of BDA was at Peterborough, the site of the main Hotpoint factory.

In September 1967, GEC announced it wanted to take over AEI, and on 24 May 1968, GEC agreed to merge its domestic appliance division with BDA. EMI would own a third, and GEC two thirds. The managing director of BDA from September 1966, Laurence Peterken, was the new managing director, but he left two weeks later. The domestic appliance manufacture was moved to the Swinton Works at Mexborough, and in 1970 the original factory in St Mary Cray, which employed around 1,200 people, was closed.

The nearby Ruxley factory manufactured kettles and coffee percolators. In January 1970, it was decided to remove the Morphy Richards brand from the fridges. It was argued that GEC had little interest in Morphy Richards. In the 1970s, BDA was the United Kingdom's largest manufacturer of domestic appliances. BDA changed its name to Hotpoint in 1975, with small domestic appliances marketed under the Morphy Richards name. On 25 May 1975, Donal Morphy died aged 74.

In April 1982, the company sold Morphy Richards for £5 million to a holding company owned by The Throgmorton Trust, Capital for Industry. [5]

Glen Dimplex

On 10 May 1985, Morphy Richards was acquired by Glen Dimplex of Ireland. From the end of the 1980s, the company was once again very successful with advances in electronics making their way into domestic appliances. Morphy Richards was one of the few manufacturers to sell appliances with a factory-fitted BS 1363 plug before this became a legal requirement.

In June 2000 the 'Morphy Richards' factory at Mexborough announced the dismissal of 120 members of its staff, citing increasingly adverse trading circumstances for its domestically made products due to their displacement in the marketplace by rival cheaper imports made in East Asia. [6]

In 2002, Bajaj Electricals partnered with Morphy Richards to make, sell, market and distribute products under the brand name in India market. [7]

In October 2003 the 'Morphy Richards' factory at Bangor, in County Down, was closed with 84 employees at the facility losing their jobs due to manufacturing production being transferred from the United Kingdom to East Asia. [8]

In 2007 Astral Equipment was merged with 'Morphy Richards' and renamed 'Morphy Richards Astral', producing refrigerators. [9]

In June 2022, it was reported that Glen Dimplex had agreed to sell Morphy Richards to the Chinese company Guangdong Xinbao Electrical Appliance Holdings (Xinbao), known for its brand Donlim.

Xinbao, which manufactures Morphy Richards products in China for Glen Dimplex, is buying the brand globally, but initially it will take full control only of the Chinese and British operations. Glen Dimplex will retain the rights to distribute the brand under in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand for at least 10 years. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering.

<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, had been making munitions, armaments and aeroplanes.

Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK's largest industrial group. A scandal that followed the acquisition is said to have been instrumental in reforming accounting practices in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Thomson-Houston</span> British engineering and heavy industrial company

British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufacturer using licences from the American company. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whirlpool Corporation</span> American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances

Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. The Fortune 500 company has annual revenue of approximately $21 billion, 78,000 employees, and more than 70 manufacturing and technology research centers globally.

Hotpoint is a brand of domestic appliances. Ownership of the brand is split between American company Whirlpool, which has the rights in Europe, Chinese company Haier, which has the rights in the Americas and Turkish company Arcelik which has rights in Russia and the CIS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberts Radio</span>

Roberts Radio is a British consumer electronics company that produces radios and related audio equipment. Based in Mexborough, the company has been making radios since its foundation in 1932 and claim to be the oldest active radio manufacturer in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grundig</span> Turkish consumer electronics manufacturer

Grundig is a consumer electronics manufacturer owned by Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. The company makes domestic appliances and personal-care products.

Martin Naughton, an Irish-British billionaire businessman and engineer. He is the founder of GlenDimplex, a company specializing in electrical appliances

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorn Electrical Industries</span> Former British electrical engineering company

Thorn Electrical Industries Limited was a British electrical engineering company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, but merged with EMI Group to form Thorn EMI in 1979. It was de-merged in 1996 and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but was acquired by the Japanese Nomura Group only two years later. It is now owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners.

GlenDimplex is an Irish based consumer electrical goods firm headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is privately held, with manufacturing and development centres in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, China and many other locations around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indesit Company</span> Italian appliance company

Indesit Company is an Italian company based in Fabriano, Ancona. It is one of the leading European manufacturers and distributors of major domestic appliances. It claims to be the undisputed leader in major markets such as Italy, the UK and Russia. Founded in 1975 and listed on the Milan stock exchange since 1987, the group posted sales of €2.7 billion in 2013. It has eight industrial areas in Italy, Poland, the UK, Russia and Turkey, and 16,000 employees. Since 2014 the majority of the company is owned by the American company Whirlpool.

Goblin Vacuum Cleaners was a British brand of vacuum cleaners made from the early 1900s until the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dualit</span> British kitchen appliance manufacturer

Dualit is a British manufacturer of kitchen and catering equipment, coffee, tea capsules. It is known for its range of heavy-duty toasters. It was primarily designed for the commercial catering market, its domestic usage increased during the 1990s

Russell Hobbs is a British manufacturer of household appliances. Formed in 1952 by William Russell and Peter Hobbs, it became the primary kettle maker in the United Kingdom marketplace in the 1960s. Subjected to many corporate acquisitions through its history, its head office is currently sited in Failsworth, England, having moved its manufacturing operation to East Asia.

LEC Refrigeration, known by its full title as Longford Engineering Company Refrigeration, is a British company manufacturing refrigerators and freezers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bajaj Electricals</span> Indian electric appliances company

Bajaj Electricals Ltd is an Indian consumer electrical equipment manufacturing company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the 380 billion (US$4.8 billion) Bajaj Group. It has diversified with interests in lighting, luminaries, appliances, fans, LPG based generators, engineering and projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V-Guard Industries</span> Indian electric appliances company

V-Guard Industries Ltd is an Indian electricals and home appliances manufacturer, headquartered in Kochi. The company manufactures voltage stabilizers, electrical cable, electric pumps, electric motors, geysers, solar water heaters, electric fans and UPSs. It was founded in 1977 by Kochouseph Chittilappilly as a small voltage stabilizer manufacturing unit.

Schreiber was a brand of fitted kitchen and furniture operating in the United Kingdom.

L G Hawkins & Co Ltd was an England based company which manufactured small electrical domestic appliances. The company was founded by Leonard George Hawkins in 1913 in London. Initially Leonard George Hawkins imported domestic electrical products from the USA under the ‘Universal’ brand name.

References

  1. Prince, Dominic (19 January 2011). "How easy is it to buy British?". Express.co.uk.
  2. "Buy Dry Irons At Low Price | Morphy Richards India". www.morphyrichardsindia.com. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. "Morphy-Richards - Graces Guide".
  4. Silavent
  5. "Morphy Richards". Museum of Power. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. "Mexborough Plant to shed jobs". Doncaster Free Press. 29 June 2000.
  7. Sharma, Arti (4 October 2002). "Bajaj Electricals Set To Tie Up With Morphy Richards". Business Standard India.
  8. "Jobs to go with factory closure". BBC News. 7 October 2003.
  9. "City's changing economic fortune". BBC News. 11 January 2007.
  10. "Glen Dimplex to sell off Morphy Richards brand to Chinese". 10 June 2022.