Sheffield Forgemasters
Sheffield Forgemasters is a UK steel manufacturing and processing company and England's largest and oldest steel company . The company is headquartered in Sheffield . The rich history of Sheffield Forgemasters is characterized by numerous name changes and mergers and can be traced back to the mid-18th century.
history
Sheffield Forgemasters was officially founded on July 3, 1982, as a result of the merger of Firth Brown and British Steel's River Don Works. The history of Sheffield Forgemaster, however, can be traced back to the origins of steel production in Sheffield until the middle of the 18th century, when founder Edward Vickers, at that time still a miller who owned his own water mill in Millsands, Sheffield, decided to move into the revival To enter the steel business. In 1805 Edward Vickers founded a family business with the support of the Naylor family.
By 1851 Vickers was able to produce the heaviest ingot to date, weighing 24 centners. In 1854 Edward Vickers sons Tom (German Thomas) and Albert joined the family business. After Henry Bessemer patented a new manufacturing process in 1856, tons of steel could be produced in a very short time - a new era in steel production began.
In 1863 Vickers moved into a new company headquarters in Sheffield on the River Don in Brightside and founded the River Don Works, which began production in 1864. The largest crucible furnace at that time was located there and was able to cast a 20-ton block. At that time, more and more steel companies settled in Sheffield. Around 35,000 tons of steel were produced at this location alone - this corresponded to more than half of the global steel production at that time.
Edward Vickers bequeathed the company to his sons Tom and Albert, which was converted into a corporation in 1867 and was henceforth called Vickers, Sons & Co. In 1870 River Don Works was one of the two largest mechanical engineering companies in the world, alongside Bochum in Germany. The company expanded, gained a foothold in various markets, and merged with or bought up other companies, including the Barrow Shipbuilding Company in 1897 and the arms manufacturer Maxim Nordenfelt Guns And Ammunitions Company, where the first Maxim self-loading machine gun was invented. which was the most important weapon of its kind until the beginning of the 20th century.
After merging with the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company , the company was called Vickers, Sons & Maxim. Further business combinations followed and the group was named Vickers Ltd. in 1911. The company was now able to offer a comprehensive range of products from blocks and forgings such as bells to weapons and ships. a. the Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff also parts on behalf of the shipping company White Star Line for the RMS Titanic for Vickers Ltd.
In 1928 Vickers Ltd. merged with Armstrong Whitworth to form Vickers Armstrong Ltd, which merged in 1929 with Taylor Bros. & Darlington Forge and Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd. merged to form the English Steel Corporation (ESC). In 1967 the company was nationalized and was called BSC River Don Works - British Steel for short, the direct predecessor of Sheffield Forgemasters.
In 1988 the management took over the company, Sheffield Forgemasters, through a management buy-out (MBO), which, however, was bought up in 1998 by Atchison Casting Corp., USA. After the Atchison bankruptcy in 2003, the management, led by Dr. Graham Honeyman Sheffield Forgemasters through another management buy-out in 2005 and thus saved the company from closing. The company was completely restructured and corporate goals reformulated.
The company hit the headlines in the 1990s when the pipe parts it produced for an Iraqi super cannon ( Project Babylon ) were confiscated by British customs.
Today Sheffield Forgemasters is still internationally active and has completely recovered from the bankruptcy. There are agencies and sales companies on almost every continent.