History
Sir Jules Thorn had worked in England as a travelling salesman for company Olso, an Austrian manufacturer of gas mantles. When Olso went bankrupt in 1926, Thorn decided to stay in England and set up Electric Lamp Service Company as dealers in electrical and radio goods, including importing Hungarian lamps. [1] [2] On 29 March 1928 The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd was incorporated, taking over the undertakings, property and assets of the Electric Lamp Service Company.
Alfred Deutsch, an Austrian engineer, visited Thorn in 1928 and was persuaded to stay to help organize the company's production process. [3]
In 1931, Thorn opened his first shop, renting radios in Twickenham. [4]
In August 1932, Thorn personally acquired a controlling interest in Chorlton Metal Co. Limited, dealers of electric lamps and radio goods, based in Manchester. [2]
Atlas Lamp Works
Prior to 1933, the company purchased and sold electric lamps and radio goods. [5] Thorn acquired the Atlas Lamp Works company in 1932 and began making light bulbs in Edmonton, north London by the end of 1933. The company grew rapidly to become one of the world's largest producers of lamps, luminaires and lighting components.
In October 1933, Jules Thorn formed Lotus Radio (1933) Limited with Mr L. M. Glancy, a director of Chorlton Metal Co. Limited, acquiring certain assets of the original Lotus Company and to manufacture radio receivers. [2]
Going public
The company changed its name to Thorn Electrical Industries Limited on 26 November 1936 and became a public limited company on 28 November 1936. Earlier in the year, Chorlton Metal Co. Limited and Lotus Radio (1933) Limited had become wholly owned subsidiaries. and the group had acquired the freehold property known as Atlas Works, which they previously leased. [2]
Jules Thorn became chairman of Ferguson Radio Corporation in 1936 and Thorn began distributing their entire domestic radio production. [6] In 1946, Thorn acquired Ferguson. [7] [8] In 1947 Thorn formed a agreement with Sylvania Electric Products to co-operate on the development and manufacture of fluorescent lamps. [1] [6] [9]
By 1948, the company had 2,400 employees and had factories in Enfield (Ferguson's), Edmonton, Hirwaun and Tottenham and was building one in Merthyr Tydfil. The group was manufacturing Atlas lamps, fluorescent lighting fittings and equipments; Ferguson radio and television receivers; and Mary Ann domestic appliances. At that date, its trading subsidiaries were Ferguson Radio Corporation; Lamp Presscaps (manufacturer of lamp caps); Domestic Electrical Rentals (letting of radio and domestic appliances); and British Electric Domestic Appliances (sale and servicing of radio and domestic appliances) as well as a subsidiary in South Africa. [6] The company bought Tricity Cookers in 1951.
Further expansion
In 1957, Thorn entered an agreement with Bendix Aviation Corporation in the United States to make electrical components for guided missiles and supersonic aircraft in the UK on behalf of Bendix. [10] The same year, they made arrangements with EMI to produce "His Master's Voice" (HMV) and Marconiphone radio and television receivers. They also brought all the lighting activities under Atlas Lighting Limited. [11] In April 1959, they acquired Philco's UK business. [12]
The company bought Ultra Electronics in 1961. [13] [1]
In 1964, driven by the need to compete more effectively in world markets, Thorn merged its lighting interests with those of Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) to form British Lighting Industries. [14] [4] Thorn took over Glover and Main, a local Edmonton company in 1965, a gas-appliance manufacturer. Thorn manufactured television sets in Australia and in Bradford, UK. [15]
In June 1967, Moffat's interests in the UK were acquired. In August 1967, Thorn acquired Metal Industries, Limited, which had interests in electrical and electronic control and instrumentation, including Avo, Towler and Fawcett. [4] Certain of Thorn's electrical interests were merged with the UK electronic interests of the Bendix Corporation through a joint company, Thorn Bendix. [16] In November 1967, Thorn bought out AEI's 35% interest in British Lighting Industries. In March 1968, they acquired Keyswitch Relays. [17]
By 1968, the Thorn Group had over fifty major factories in the United Kingdom and eight overseas covering a wide field in the electrical and electronics industries. [16]
At the time, their British Radio Corporation Limited held a leading position in the UK manufacture of television receivers, radio receivers, radio gramophones and tape recorders sold under the brands Ferguson, Ultra, HMV and Marconiphone. [16]
Thorn's British Lighting Industries held the largest share of the UK lighting market in 1968 and was also the largest exporter of lighting equipment from the UK. It sold its products under the brands Mazda, Atlas and Ekco. [16]
Its domestic appliances division had a large share of the electric and gas cooker market sold under the brand names Tricity, Main and Moffat. It was also a substantial manufacturer of refrigerators, gas fires and small electric appliances. Thorn was also a major manufacturer of industrial catering equipment through its subsidiaries, Benham & Sons and James Scott & Co. [16]
Through a joint venture with AEI (Thorn-AEI Radio Valves and Tubes) they were one of two major manufacturers of valves and tubes in the UK, including colour television tubes. The brand names of the products were Mazda and Brimar. [16]
Radio Rentals acquisition
In 1968, Thorn acquired Radio Rentals for £180 million to add to its Domestic Electrical Rentals (DER) business, to become the largest television rental group in Great Britain with 2.6 million subscribers and 1,300 stores. [18] [19] [20] [21] The same year it also acquired Kenwood Manufacturing, a domestic appliance manufacturer. [16]
American company General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) built up a large interest in Thorn, with the potential of a merger rumoured. In the 1960s, GTE shared their technical knowledge of colour television tubes from their now subsidiary, Sylvania Electric Products, with Thorn. [9]
GTE sold its shares in 1968 following the acquisition of Radio Rentals. [9] They set up a joint venture in the 1970s to try and break into the UK telephone equipment market. GT&E was later replaced by Ericsson of Sweden who wanted a foothold in the UK equipment market and who eventually bought out Thorn's interest.
The Thorn Group's other notable brands over the years included Rumbelows (electrical goods), Thorn Kidde (fire protection) and TMD [22] (microwave equipment).
