British Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company was a subsidiary of the American Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. British Westinghouse would become a subsidiary of Metropolitan Vickers in 1919; and after Metropolitan Vickers merged with
British Thomson-HoustonBritish Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...
in 1929, it became part of
Associated Electrical IndustriesAssociated Electrical Industries was a British engineering company formed in 1959 by the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company and Metropolitan Vickers. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK's largest electrical group....
(AEI) in 1959. Further consolidation saw AEI taken over by GEC in 1967.
George WestinghouseGeorge Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
established British Westinghouse in 1899 with capital from his own company and a smaller share from UK investors.
British Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company was a subsidiary of the American Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. British Westinghouse would become a subsidiary of Metropolitan Vickers in 1919; and after Metropolitan Vickers merged with
British Thomson-HoustonBritish Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...
in 1929, it became part of
Associated Electrical IndustriesAssociated Electrical Industries was a British engineering company formed in 1959 by the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company and Metropolitan Vickers. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK's largest electrical group....
(AEI) in 1959. Further consolidation saw AEI taken over by GEC in 1967.
George WestinghouseGeorge Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
established British Westinghouse in 1899 with capital from his own company and a smaller share from UK investors. The company commenced the construction of its first factory in
Trafford ParkTrafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located opposite Salford Quays, on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, it is west-southwest of Manchester city centre, and north of Stretford....
,
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
the same year. Manufacturing began in 1902, the same year as the rival British Thomson-Houston (BTH). BTH was majority owned by
General ElectricThe General Electric Company, or GE , is a multinational American technology and services conglomerate incorporated in the State of New York. In 2009, Forbes ranked GE as the world's largest company...
and the competition between BTH and British Westinghouse mirrored that of the parent companies, GE and Westinghouse in America.
In 1907 Westinghouse went into
receivershipReceivership is used to denote a situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver. In law, a receiver is a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." Various types of receiver...
with the result executive control of the company was taken away from George Westinghouse, though he remained as President. Another effect of this was the increased independence of British Westinghouse. This was reinforced in 1910 when the board voted to remove George Westinghouse from his role as Chairman. American Westinghouse did retain over half the shares however.
In 1916 British Westinghouse, following the impression that American control of the company hindered its performance during World War I, began the transition to a British owned company. Metropolitan Carriage Wagon Company bought a controlling interest in the group in 1917. The same year the board accepted collaboration with
VickersVickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
and the name
Metropolitan Vickers was chosen. Vickers assumed complete control in 1919 when Metropolitan Carriage was sold to the company.