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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire , United Kingdom |
| Products | Audio visual equipment (currently) |
| Owner | IAG Group |
| Parent | International Audio Group |
| Website | wharfedale.co.uk |
Wharfedale is a British audio equipment brand, best known for loudspeakers. It is currently part of the International Audio Group.
Wharfedale Wireless Works was founded in 1932 by Gilbert Briggs, and became one of Britain's leading manufacturers of audiophile equipment, particularly loudspeakers. In addition to winning awards by groups such as the Bradford Radio Society, in mass public testing at Carnegie Hall Wharfedale speakers proved indistinguishable from live music. Innovations introduced by Wharfedale under Briggs included such basics as the two-way loudspeaker and the ceramic magnet. In the 1950s and 1960s, Wharfedale became famous for its technique of eliminating cabinet resonances by using a double cabinet, with the space between the inner and outer shells filled with sand. Purchasers of the loudspeaker systems would receive the appropriate quantity of sand which had been shipped from Wharfedale in England. [1] [2] [3] (Wharfedale in Yorkshire is the site of numerous sand quarries). Briggs sold the company to the Rank Organisation in 1958, and it has been through several owners since then.
The original manufacturing site was located in Idle, a district of Bradford, West Yorkshire.[ citation needed ] The current manufacturing site is in Ji'an in China. (Locals in the area who are native to the district speak of being "born Idle").
Currently, Wharfedale's research and development is located at the IAG UK HQ, in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK lead by the famous loudspeaker designer, Peter Comeau.
As part of the IAG Group, Wharfedale benefits from a self-owned, centralised manufacturing facility in Jian, Jiang-Xi province, China.
The IAG Group factory covers an area of approximately 400,000 square metres. Operating in a ‘raw-material to finished goods’ manufacturing remit, combined with international research and development expertise, IAG Group stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of capabilities and efficiencies.
Our inward investment extends to state-of-the-art R&D facilities located in the UK’s home of Hi-Fi, Huntingdon, Cambridge, as well as Yokohama, Japan and China’s technology capital, Shenzhen. The IAG Group team of skilled professionals engineer cutting edge technology, from the ground up. Combine this with a fully equipped tool-shop and multi-skilled NPI teams for on-site prototyping and development, the IAG Group keeps the notion of ‘concept to competition’ under one single, exceptionally capable umbrella.
In February, 2023, Wharfedale announced their first UK-made loudspeaker in over 40 years - the Wharfedale Dovedale. [4]
Dovedale is built in the home of British Hi-Fi at Wharfedale’s UK headquarters in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Incorporating key manufacturing, assembly and finishing processes for specially selected products in addition to the R&D function already located there. A 9,000ft2 production facility has been added to the existing building, including a new anechoic chamber, making a total of 25,000ft2 of office, lab and manufacturing space. It is here that Dovedale is manufactured by highly trained, vastly experienced loudspeaker experts. [5]
Wharfedale is officially accredited by the 'Made In Britain' organisation - a not-for-profit organisation, supporting British manufacturers with the official trademarks, we work collaboratively with other UK trade bodies, relevant UK government departments and media channels, to promote high quality employment, responsible business and sustainable economic growth. We work tirelessly all year round to represent and promote British manufacturing. [6]
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Gilbert Arthur Briggs, commonly referred to as "G. A. Briggs", founded Wharfedale Wireless Works in Yorkshire, England, in 1932, and was a leading figure in the early development of high fidelity loudspeakers introducing such basics as the two-way loudspeaker and the ceramic magnet, as well as writing some famous books on audio and loudspeakers. Britain was at the forefront of developments in radio, audio and television, and Wharfedale is still known as a leading manufacturer of high quality loudspeakers, although the company was sold in 1958 to The Rank Group and in the early 1990s to Verity Group PLC.
The Wharfedale MACH series of loudspeakers consists of the MACH 3, 5, 7, and 9. This is an informational page devoted to owners and users of these loudspeakers and those interested in history and construction of electronic sound reproduction.
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