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| fate = Renamed
| fate = Renamed
| successor = [[Balfour Beatty]]
| successor = [[Balfour Beatty]]
| foundation = 1945
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1945|df=yes}}
| defunct = 2000
| defunct = {{End date and age|2000|df=yes}}
| location = [[Helsby]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]
| location = [[Helsby]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]
| industry = [[Building materials]]
| industry = [[Building materials]]
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}}
}}


'''British Insulated Callender's Cables (BICC)''' was a 20th-century British cable manufacturer and construction company, now renamed after former subsidiary [[Balfour Beatty]].
'''British Insulated Callender's Cables (BICC)''' was a 20th-century British cable manufacturer and construction company, now renamed after its former subsidiary [[Balfour Beatty]]. It was formed from the merger of two long established cable firms, Callender's Cable & Construction Company and British Insulated Cables.


==History==
==History==
===Callender's Cable & Construction Company===
⚫
British Insulated Callender's Cables was formed in 1945 by the merger of two long established cable firms, Callender's Cable & Construction Company Limited and British Insulated Cables. Subsidiaries could trace their roots back to [[Submarine communications cable|submarine cable]] manufacturing on the [[Thames]] in the 1850s. The company was renamed BICC Ltd in 1975.<ref>[http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1976_1979/fulltext/116c02.pdf ''BICC'', Monopolies & Mergers Commission] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025171819/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1976_1979/fulltext/116c02.pdf |date=25 October 2007 }}</ref>
Callender's Cable & Construction Company was founded by William Ormiston Callender in 1870.<ref name=science>{{cite web|url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/ap14775/bicc-ltd|title=BICC Ltd|publisher=Science Museum Group|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref> It was originally an importer and refiner of [[bitumen]] for road construction but began manufacturing insulated cables at their [[Erith]] site on the Thames in the 1880s.<ref name=science/>


⚫
It played a significant role in construction of the British [[National Grid (Great Britain)|National Grid]] in the 1930s building the [[400 kV Thames Crossing#132 kV Thames Crossing|132 kV crossing of the Thames]] at [[Dagenham]] with overhead cables spanning 3060 feet (932m) between two 487&nbsp;ft (148m) towers, and allowing 250&nbsp;ft (76m) clearance for shipping.<ref>''Power over the Thames'', C. Winchester Ed 1937, Wonders of World Engineering P1321-1324, Amalgamated Press, London</ref> Callender's research and engineering laboratories were based at a former power station site in [[White City, London|White City]], London, close to Ormiston House, where the company's founder had lived.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.woodlanebicc.co.uk/docs/Preface.pdf|title=The History of Wood Lane|first1=A. E. |last1=Morrison |first2=G. F. |last2=Holder|publisher=BICC Research and Engineering Limited|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref>
Callender's, originally an importer and refiner of [[bitumen]] for road construction, began manufacturing insulated cables in the 1880s at their [[Erith]] site on the Thames. British Insulated Cables had its origins in 1890 in the British Insulated Wire Company of [[Prescot]], near [[Liverpool]]. Cable manufacture remained at both sites throughout the history of BICC.


===British Insulated Cables===
Among the many early companies absorbed into BICC was the [[Greenwich]] firm Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Telcon). This made the 1865 and 1866 [[Transatlantic telegraph cable|transatlantic cables]] and (as its forerunner Glass, Elliot & Co), the 1857 and 1858 cables.
British Insulated Cables was founded as the British Insulated Wire Company at [[Prescot]], near [[Liverpool]] in 1890.<ref name=science/> It bought the rights to a paper-insulated power cable capable of transmitting electricity at 10,000 volts, for use at Deptford Power Station, from [[Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti]].<ref name=science/> It went on to acquire the Telegraph Manufacturing Company in 1902 and was renamed British Insulated Cables in 1925.<ref name=science/>


===Post-merger===
⚫
Constituent companies of BICC played significant roles in construction of the British [[National Grid (UK)|National Grid]] in the 1930s. Callender's for example constructed the [[400 kV Thames Crossing#132 kV Thames Crossing|132 kV crossing of the Thames]] at [[Dagenham]] with overhead cables spanning 3060 feet (932m) between two 487&nbsp;ft (148m) towers, and allowing 250&nbsp;ft (76m) clearance for shipping.<ref>''Power over the Thames'', C. Winchester Ed 1937, Wonders of World Engineering P1321-1324, Amalgamated Press, London</ref> Companies including Glovers at [[Trafford Park]] and Callender's at Erith contributed to manufacturing [[PLUTO]].
⚫
Callender's Cable & Construction Company and British Insulated Cables merged to form British Insulated Callender's Cables in 1945.<ref name=comp>[http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1976_1979/fulltext/116c02.pdf ''BICC'', Monopolies & Mergers Commission] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025171819/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1976_1979/fulltext/116c02.pdf |date=25 October 2007 }}</ref> The company was renamed BICC in 1975.<ref name=comp/>


BICC had a world presence which was initially in the Commonwealth but in the 1980s and 1990s extended into mainland Europe and beyond. Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese companies gave entry in turn to South America and other parts of Africa. Disastrous investments in former East Germany and Russia helped bring the business to its knees at the same time as margins in every other part of the cable-making businesses came under attack.
BICC had a world presence which was initially in the Commonwealth but in the 1980s and 1990s extended into mainland Europe and beyond. Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese companies gave entry in turn to South America and other parts of Africa. Disastrous investments in former East Germany and Russia helped bring the business to its knees at the same time as margins in every other part of the cable-making businesses came under attack.<ref name=science/>
⚫
In the 1970s the firm had UK works at [[Erith]], [[Prescot]], [[Kirkby]], [[Leyton]], [[Helsby]], [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], [[Melling, Merseyside|Melling]], [[Wrexham]], [[Blackley]], [[Belfast]] and [[Huyton]] (now Hi-Wire Ltd) making electric power cables, telecommunications cables and metals. BICC's (originally Callender's) research and engineering laboratories at a former power station site in [[White City, London|White City]], London was close to Ormiston House, William Ormiston Callender's house of the 1870s.<ref>[http://www.biccwoodlane.co.uk/chapter%20three.htm History of Wood Lane Chapter 3]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1988 the research and engineering facilities moved to new premises at the company's [[Wrexham]] and [[Helsby]] sites.<ref>BICC Management Plan & Budget 1997</ref>


⚫
In January 1991 British Copper Refiners, a subsidiary of BICC,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/British_Copper_Refiners|publisher= Grace's Guide to British Industrial History|title=British Copper Refiners, Subsidiary of British Insulated Cables|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref> announced the closure of the Prescot plant with the loss of 230 jobs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199091/cmhansrd/1991-02-26/Debate-19.html |publisher=Hansard |date= 26 February 1991 |title=Mr. George Howarth (MP for Knowsley, North)|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref>
⚫
In the 1970s the firm had UK works at Erith, Prescot, [[Kirkby]], [[Leyton]], [[Helsby]], [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], [[Melling, Merseyside|Melling]], [[Wrexham]], [[Blackley]], [[Belfast]] and [[Huyton]] (now Hi-Wire UK Ltd) making electric power cables, telecommunications cables and metals. BICC's (originally Callender's) research and engineering laboratories at a former power station site in [[White City, London|White City]], London was close to Ormiston House, William Ormiston Callender's house of the 1870s.<ref>[http://www.biccwoodlane.co.uk/chapter%20three.htm History of Wood Lane Chapter 3]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1988 the research and engineering facilities moved to new premises at the company's [[Wrexham]] and [[Helsby]] sites.


In 1999 the ailing BICC sold its optical cables business to [[Corning Inc.|Corning]] and power cables businesses to [[General Cable]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ewweb.com/business-management/article/20918194/general-cable-to-buy-bicc-cable-assets|title=General Cable to buy BICC Cable assets|publisher= Business Management|date=1 May 2003|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref>
==Demise of the business==
⚫
In January 1991 the British Copper Refiners subsidiary<ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/British_Copper_Refiners Grace's Guide to British Industrial History ''British Copper Refiners, Subsidiary of British Insulated Cables'']</ref> in Prescot was closed with the loss of 230 jobs.<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199091/cmhansrd/1991-02-26/Debate-19.html House of Commons Hansard Debates for 26 Feb 1991 ''Mr. George Howarth (MP for Knowsley, North)'']</ref> In 1999 the ailing BICC sold its optical cables business to [[Corning Incorporated|Corning]] and power cables businesses to [[General Cable|General Cable Corporation]],<ref>[http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=31503 PR Newswire ''General Cable enters into a definitive agreement to acquire the worldwide energy cable assets of BICC PLC'']</ref> which subsequently sold on parts to [[Pirelli]].


⚫
BICC also owned construction company [[Balfour Beatty]] and, following sale of its cable operations, BICC renamed itself ''Balfour Beatty'' in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/shake-up-will-see-bicc-change-to-balfour-beatty-1113639.html |title=Shake-up will see BICC change to Balfour Beatty|work=The Independent|date= 19 August 1999|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref>
⚫
Closure of part the Erith works by Pirelli was announced in 2002, with production of oil-filled cable transferred to their [[Eastleigh]] works in [[Hampshire]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2496239.stm Pirelli to shed 445 jobs, BBC News 20 Nov 2002]</ref> Pirelli subsequently sold off their cable operations, now known as [[Prysmian]].


⚫
In 2002, [[Pirelli]], who acquired the Erith plant from General Cable announced the closure of part of the site and the transfer of the production of oil-filled cable to their [[Eastleigh]] works in [[Hampshire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2496239.stm |title=Pirelli to shed 445 jobs|publisher= BBC News|date= 20 November 2002|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref>
⚫
BICC also owned construction company [[Balfour Beatty]] and, following sale of its cable operations, BICC renamed itself ''Balfour Beatty'' in 2000.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990819/ai_n14251973 Shake-up will see BICC change to Balfour Beatty]</ref>


The BICC name still survives in 2010 at the General Cable owned BICC Egypt; a power-cable plant near Cairo.
In 2020 the BICC Cables name continued in use at the former BICC Egypt power cable plant in Giza.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bicccables.com/about-us/|title=About us|publisher=BICC, Egypt|accessdate=20 June 2020}}</ref>


==Callender's Cableworks Band==
==Callender's Cableworks Band==
{{Main|Callender's Cableworks Band}}
{{Main|Callender's Cableworks Band}}
This was an amateur brass band, active between 1898 and 1961, of which all members were employees of Callender's at Erith.<ref name="Brass band results" >[http://brassbandresults.co.uk/bands/callenders-cableworks-band/ Brass Band Results: Callenders Cable Works Band] - amateur band employed by the Erith Works of the Callender Cable & Construction Co.Ltd</ref> They rehearsed and performed in their leisure time, while the company in its role of patron lent its name and supplied uniforms and instruments. The band broadcast prolifically on [[BBC Radio]] in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Callender's programme" >[http://www.satiche.org.uk/vinbbp/phot6776.jpg Callender's Band performance programme or handout leaflet, 16 Dec 1932]</ref>
This was an amateur brass band, active between 1898 and 1961, of which all members were employees of Callender's at Erith.<ref name="Brass band results" >{{cite web|url=http://brassbandresults.co.uk/bands/callenders-cableworks-band/ |title=Brass Band Results: Callenders Cable Works Band: amateur band employed by the Erith Works of the Callender Cable & Construction Co.|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref> They rehearsed and performed in their leisure time, while the company in its role of patron lent its name and supplied uniforms and instruments. The band broadcast prolifically on [[BBC Radio]] in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Callender's programme" >{{cite web|url=http://www.satiche.org.uk/vinbbp/phot6776.jpg|title= Callender's Band performance programme |date=16 December 1932|accessdate=26 April 2020}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 51: Line 55:
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* R.M. Morgan, 1982, ''Callenders 1882-1945'', BICC plc.
* R.M. Morgan, 1982, ''Callenders 1882-1945'', BICC plc.

== See also ==
*[[Callender-Hamilton bridge]]


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/archive/pdf/Business-British%20Insulated%20Callenders%20Cables%20Plc%20no63.pdf National Museums Liverpool Archives Department Information sheet 63 - British Insulated Callenders Cables PLC]
* [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/archive/pdf/Business-British%20Insulated%20Callenders%20Cables%20Plc%20no63.pdf National Museums Liverpool Archives Department Information sheet 63 - British Insulated Callenders Cables PLC]
* {{PM20|FID=co/051140|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}


{{FT 30 constituents}}
{{FT 30 constituents}}

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Cable manufacture in London]]
[[Category:Cable manufacture in London]]
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[[Category:Wire and cable manufacturers]]
[[Category:Wire and cable manufacturers]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Industry on the River Thames]]
[[Category:Industry on the River Thames]]
[[Category:1945 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1945 establishments in England]]
[[Category:2000 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:2000 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Structural steel]]
[[Category:Structural steel]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1945]]
[[Category:British companies disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Electrical engineering companies of the United Kingdom]]

Revision as of 02:01, 29 May 2023

British Insulated Callender's Cables
Company typePublic
IndustryBuilding materials
Founded1945; 79 years ago (1945)
Defunct2000; 24 years ago (2000)
FateRenamed
SuccessorBalfour Beatty
HeadquartersHelsby, UK
ProductsElectrical cable

British Insulated Callender's Cables (BICC) was a 20th-century British cable manufacturer and construction company, now renamed after its former subsidiary Balfour Beatty. It was formed from the merger of two long established cable firms, Callender's Cable & Construction Company and British Insulated Cables.

History

Callender's Cable & Construction Company

Callender's Cable & Construction Company was founded by William Ormiston Callender in 1870.[1] It was originally an importer and refiner of bitumen for road construction but began manufacturing insulated cables at their Erith site on the Thames in the 1880s.[1]

It played a significant role in construction of the British National Grid in the 1930s building the 132 kV crossing of the Thames at Dagenham with overhead cables spanning 3060 feet (932m) between two 487 ft (148m) towers, and allowing 250 ft (76m) clearance for shipping.[2] Callender's research and engineering laboratories were based at a former power station site in White City, London, close to Ormiston House, where the company's founder had lived.[3]

British Insulated Cables

British Insulated Cables was founded as the British Insulated Wire Company at Prescot, near Liverpool in 1890.[1] It bought the rights to a paper-insulated power cable capable of transmitting electricity at 10,000 volts, for use at Deptford Power Station, from Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti.[1] It went on to acquire the Telegraph Manufacturing Company in 1902 and was renamed British Insulated Cables in 1925.[1]

Post-merger

Callender's Cable & Construction Company and British Insulated Cables merged to form British Insulated Callender's Cables in 1945.[4] The company was renamed BICC in 1975.[4]

BICC had a world presence which was initially in the Commonwealth but in the 1980s and 1990s extended into mainland Europe and beyond. Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese companies gave entry in turn to South America and other parts of Africa. Disastrous investments in former East Germany and Russia helped bring the business to its knees at the same time as margins in every other part of the cable-making businesses came under attack.[1]

In the 1970s the firm had UK works at Erith, Prescot, Kirkby, Leyton, Helsby, Leigh, Melling, Wrexham, Blackley, Belfast and Huyton (now Hi-Wire Ltd) making electric power cables, telecommunications cables and metals. BICC's (originally Callender's) research and engineering laboratories at a former power station site in White City, London was close to Ormiston House, William Ormiston Callender's house of the 1870s.[5] In 1988 the research and engineering facilities moved to new premises at the company's Wrexham and Helsby sites.[6]

In January 1991 British Copper Refiners, a subsidiary of BICC,[7] announced the closure of the Prescot plant with the loss of 230 jobs.[8]

In 1999 the ailing BICC sold its optical cables business to Corning and power cables businesses to General Cable.[9]

BICC also owned construction company Balfour Beatty and, following sale of its cable operations, BICC renamed itself Balfour Beatty in 2000.[10]

In 2002, Pirelli, who acquired the Erith plant from General Cable announced the closure of part of the site and the transfer of the production of oil-filled cable to their Eastleigh works in Hampshire.[11]

In 2020 the BICC Cables name continued in use at the former BICC Egypt power cable plant in Giza.[12]

Callender's Cableworks Band

Main article: Callender's Cableworks Band

This was an amateur brass band, active between 1898 and 1961, of which all members were employees of Callender's at Erith.[13] They rehearsed and performed in their leisure time, while the company in its role of patron lent its name and supplied uniforms and instruments. The band broadcast prolifically on BBC Radio in the 1920s and 1930s.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "BICC Ltd". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  2. ^ Power over the Thames, C. Winchester Ed 1937, Wonders of World Engineering P1321-1324, Amalgamated Press, London
  3. ^ Morrison, A. E.; Holder, G. F. "The History of Wood Lane" (PDF). BICC Research and Engineering Limited. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b BICC, Monopolies & Mergers Commission Archived 25 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ History of Wood Lane Chapter 3[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ BICC Management Plan & Budget 1997
  7. ^ "British Copper Refiners, Subsidiary of British Insulated Cables". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Mr. George Howarth (MP for Knowsley, North)". Hansard. 26 February 1991. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  9. ^ "General Cable to buy BICC Cable assets". Business Management. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Shake-up will see BICC change to Balfour Beatty". The Independent. 19 August 1999. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Pirelli to shed 445 jobs". BBC News. 20 November 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  12. ^ "About us". BICC, Egypt. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Brass Band Results: Callenders Cable Works Band: amateur band employed by the Erith Works of the Callender Cable & Construction Co". Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Callender's Band performance programme". 16 December 1932. Retrieved 26 April 2020.

Further reading

  • R.M. Morgan, 1982, Callenders 1882-1945, BICC plc.

See also

External links

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