Brush Electrical Machines
Encyclopedia
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
for gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
and steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
drive applications, based at Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In 1879, a company was established in Lambeth London, called the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation. Its formation was to exploit the invention of Charles Francis Brush, who was born in Cleveland Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1849 and who had invented his first electric dynamo
Dynamo
- Engineering :* Dynamo, a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator* Dynamo theory, a theory relating to magnetic fields of celestial bodies* Solar dynamo, the physical process that generates the Sun's magnetic field- Software :...
in 1876.
He founded a company called the American Brush Company, which stayed in business in the USA until about 1891. As the business grew in Lambeth due to the demand for new electrical apparatus, larger premises were required and the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation moved 100 miles north to the Falcon Works at Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
in 1889.
Over the next sixty years the business grew by acquisitions until in 1957 the Brush companies were incorporated into the Hawker Siddeley Group under the new name of the Brush Electrical Engineering Company Limited. Within the Hawker Siddeley Group the company manufactured a vast range of electrical products including; turbo-generators, salient pole machines, induction motors, traction motors and generators, traction locomotives, switchgear, transformers and fuses.
In November 1991 Hawker Siddeley Electric Power Group was subject to a hostile takeover bid of £1.5 billion from BTR plc, the large engineering conglomerate. The bid was successful so the Brush companies then became part of the BTR organisation. The most recent change in Brush’s history occurred in November 1996 when the FKI
FKI
FKI is a British major engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Loughborough, Leicestershire. For many years listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, but it was taken private by buyout firm Melrose in July 2008....
Group of Companies acquired the Hawker Siddeley Electric Power Group from BTR for a price of £182 million.
On 1 July 2008, Melrose plc
Melrose plc
Melrose plc is a leading British-based investment company specialising in the acquisition and performance improvement of under-performing businesses. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
completed the acquisition with FKI
FKI
FKI is a British major engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Loughborough, Leicestershire. For many years listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, but it was taken private by buyout firm Melrose in July 2008....
, Melrose being a specialist investor in the manufacturing industry, is now registered on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
During the last 125 years, various Brush companies (Brush Switchgear, Brush Transformers
Brush Transformers
Brush Transformers are a company based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, they are a manufacturer of power transformers with a history stretching back over 120 years.-History:...
, Brush Traction and Brush Control Gear) have existed on the Falcon Works site, but throughout this period Brush Electrical Machines Ltd manufacturing generators and motors has always been the largest company. Over 5,000 staff were employed on the site during the 1960s and 70s; today there are approximately 720 staff, 450 of which are direct production personnel.
The following products are manufactured at the Loughborough facility:
Air-cooled turbogenerator in the range of 20 to 225MVA, Turbomotors from 10 to 100MW and the associated control equipment each.
Aircraft manufacture
In 1915, Brush Electrical were one of a number of companies outside the established aviation contractors selected by the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to receive orders for aircraft to meet the expanding needs of the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
. Brush completed 650 aircraft by the end of 1919, including 400 Avro 504
Avro 504
The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...
s and 142 Short Type 184
Short Type 184
|-Manufacturers:Source: Barnes and James#Brush Electrical Engineering Co. Ltd. #Frederick Sage & Co. Ltd. #J. Samuel White #Mann, Egerton & Co. Ltd. #Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company #Robey & Co. Ltd. #S E Saunders Limited...
s. It also built de Havilland Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
s during the Second World War.