EKCO
Encyclopedia
EKCO from Eric Kirkham Cole Limited was a British
electronics
company producing radio
and television set
s from 1924.
Expanding into plastic production for its own use, Ekco Plastics produced both radio cases and later domestic plastic products; the plastics company became Lin Pac Mouldings Ltd.
The company's founder Eric Kirkham Cole was born on 4 July 1901 at Prittlewell
, Southend-on-Sea
and was educated at Southend Day Technical School, followed by a three-year apprenticeship. Cole and his future wife Muriel Bradshaw started out making radio sets in 1924.
William Streatfield Verrells, a schoolmaster and freelance journalist from Southend-on-Sea, wrote an article in a local newspaper asking if it was possible to power a radio set from the mains electricity supply rather than batteries. Cole saw a possible business opportunity and set about building his battery eliminator, which he later demonstrated to Verrells. Suitably impressed, Verrells joined Cole in a business venture, with Cole manufacturing the battery eliminators, and Verrells marketing them. In 1926 a private company E.K. Cole Ltd was formed with Verrells as chairman and Cole as vice-chairman. With the extra funding that was raised, the company set up a new factory at Leigh-on-Sea
in 1927. After further expansion E.K. Cole Ltd became a public limited company
in 1930, and moved to a spacious new factory at Southend-on-Sea
. The company also began to concentrate on the manufacture of mains powered radios rather than battery eliminators which were becoming obsolete.
The company suffered a major financial setback in 1932, when a fire swept through its research and development laboratories. The blaze destroyed much of the design work for the company’s new range of receivers.
Another important development for the company was the introduction of bakelite cabinets for its radios. Initially these cabinets were made for the company in Germany by AEG
, however the introduction of high import duties on the cabinets in 1931, forced Ekco to establish its own bakelite moulding shop adjacent to its Southend-on-Sea works. The company employed famous architects such as Serge Chermayeff
and Wells Coates
to design its bakelite radio cabinets.
Ekco launched its first car radio at the 1934 Radiolympia exhibition.
In 1935 Ekco made a substantial investment in Scophony Limited, the developers of the ingenious Scophony
projection television system. Although the Scophony system showed great promise, its development was halted by the Second World War, and not resumed postwar.
Before the start of the Second World War the Government decided to disperse certain production to locations away from obvious bombing targets. This led to a shadow factory at Cowbridge House, Malmesbury, Wiltshire being established by Ekco. This was followed by other shadow factories at Aylesbury
, Woking
, Preston, and Rutherglen
. The wartime headquarters of Ekco was based at Aston Clinton House
in Buckinghamshire
. Following the outbreak of war, the Southend-on-Sea factory was evacuated apart from the bakelite moulding shop whose large moulding presses could not be moved easily. Less than a year later, the empty factory was re-equipped to make wiring looms for aircraft such as the Avro Lancaster
.
Malmesbury specialised in the top secret development and production of the new radar
systems as part of the "Western Development Unit". Radar equipment produced at Malmesbury during the war included, the AI Mark IV and AI Mark VIII air interception radars, and the ASV Mark II air to surface vessel radar.
In addition to radar equipment, Ekco also manufactured the ubiquitous R1155
and T1154 aircraft radios at its Aylesbury shadow factory. Ekco carried out extensive development work on both units before putting them into production, significantly improving on the original Marconi design. The R1155 and T1154 were also produced by Marconi
, Plessey
, and EMI
. The company also manufactured the Wireless Set No. 19
tank radio at Woking, it was a Pye designed set made by several other British and American companies. In 1942 Ekco began production of its Wireless Set No. 46 portable man-pack radio, large numbers of these were made at the company's Woking and Southend-on-Sea factories.
sets.
It is estimated that by 1945 EKCO had over 8,000 people working for it across various sites making mains and portable TV's, mains and portable radios, radiograms, tape recorders, Car Radios
, Electric Heaters
, thermovent heaters, Electric Blankets
, plastic Toilet Seats
, various plastic utensils, plastic bathroom fittings and 'Superbath' baby-baths. It was one of those sites in Malmesbury, Wiltshire that in 1948 production of the Thermotube Tubular Heaters started.
Ekco bought the Dynatron
business in 1954 and the Ferranti
brand in 1957.
Ekco merged with Pye in 1960 to form a new holding company British Electronic Industries Ltd, with C.O. Stanley as Chairman and E.K. Cole as Vice-Chairman.
The following year Cole resigned from the board and retired. He died on 18 November 1966 in the Bahamas due to a bathing accident, his wife Muriel having predeceased him in 1965.
In 1966 after an unsuccessful merger in 1960 with Pye and the company seeing a major decline in its TV and Radio production the EKCO / Pye (British Electronic Industries Ltd) merger received two major blows, the death of Eric Cole aged 65 and Pye being involved in a financial scandal, British Electronic Industries Ltd was up for sale. Also in 1966, Pye closed the Southend-on-Sea factory as part of its restructuring plan and by the early 1970s the Ekco brand had all but disappeared.
In 1967 Philips Electrical Industries
emerged as the new owner of the EKCO / Pye business which was then split into three different companies.
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...
electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
company producing radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television set
Television set
A television set is a device that combines a tuner, display, and speakers for the purpose of viewing television. Television sets became a popular consumer product after the Second World War, using vacuum tubes and cathode ray tube displays...
s from 1924.
Expanding into plastic production for its own use, Ekco Plastics produced both radio cases and later domestic plastic products; the plastics company became Lin Pac Mouldings Ltd.
Early history
Prittlewell
Prittlewell is an area of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Historically, Prittlewell is the original town, Southend being the south end of Prittlewell.Originally a Saxon village, Prittlewell is centred on St...
, Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
and was educated at Southend Day Technical School, followed by a three-year apprenticeship. Cole and his future wife Muriel Bradshaw started out making radio sets in 1924.
William Streatfield Verrells, a schoolmaster and freelance journalist from Southend-on-Sea, wrote an article in a local newspaper asking if it was possible to power a radio set from the mains electricity supply rather than batteries. Cole saw a possible business opportunity and set about building his battery eliminator, which he later demonstrated to Verrells. Suitably impressed, Verrells joined Cole in a business venture, with Cole manufacturing the battery eliminators, and Verrells marketing them. In 1926 a private company E.K. Cole Ltd was formed with Verrells as chairman and Cole as vice-chairman. With the extra funding that was raised, the company set up a new factory at Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea , sometimes called Leigh, is a civil parish in Essex, England. It is part of Southend-on-Sea for administrative purposes. It became a civil parish in 1996. The council tax was increased to support it. A town council was formed. Leigh is the only parish in Southend...
in 1927. After further expansion E.K. Cole Ltd became a public limited company
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
in 1930, and moved to a spacious new factory at Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
. The company also began to concentrate on the manufacture of mains powered radios rather than battery eliminators which were becoming obsolete.
The company suffered a major financial setback in 1932, when a fire swept through its research and development laboratories. The blaze destroyed much of the design work for the company’s new range of receivers.
Another important development for the company was the introduction of bakelite cabinets for its radios. Initially these cabinets were made for the company in Germany by AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
, however the introduction of high import duties on the cabinets in 1931, forced Ekco to establish its own bakelite moulding shop adjacent to its Southend-on-Sea works. The company employed famous architects such as Serge Chermayeff
Serge Chermayeff
Serge Ivan Chermayeff was a Russian born, British architect, industrial designer, writer, and co-founder of several architectural societies, including the American Society of Planners and Architects....
and Wells Coates
Wells Coates
Wells Wintemute Coates OBE was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an ex-patriate Canadian architect who is best known for his work in England...
to design its bakelite radio cabinets.
Ekco launched its first car radio at the 1934 Radiolympia exhibition.
In 1935 Ekco made a substantial investment in Scophony Limited, the developers of the ingenious Scophony
Scophony
Scophony was a sophisticated mechanical television system developed in Britain by Scophony Limited, which used mirrors mounted on high-speed rotating drums to project an image upon a screen....
projection television system. Although the Scophony system showed great promise, its development was halted by the Second World War, and not resumed postwar.
World War II
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Preston, and Rutherglen
Rutherglen
Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow. In 1996 Rutherglen was reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.-History:...
. The wartime headquarters of Ekco was based at Aston Clinton House
Aston Clinton House
Aston Clinton House was a large mansion to the south-east of the village of Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire, England....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. Following the outbreak of war, the Southend-on-Sea factory was evacuated apart from the bakelite moulding shop whose large moulding presses could not be moved easily. Less than a year later, the empty factory was re-equipped to make wiring looms for aircraft such as the Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
.
Malmesbury specialised in the top secret development and production of the new radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
systems as part of the "Western Development Unit". Radar equipment produced at Malmesbury during the war included, the AI Mark IV and AI Mark VIII air interception radars, and the ASV Mark II air to surface vessel radar.
In addition to radar equipment, Ekco also manufactured the ubiquitous R1155
R1155
The R1155 was a ubiquitous radio communications receiver used by the Royal Air Force in World War II. The R1155/T1154 combination was used in larger aircraft, particularly the Avro Lancaster and Short Sunderland, and also in some vehicles and air-sea rescue launches...
and T1154 aircraft radios at its Aylesbury shadow factory. Ekco carried out extensive development work on both units before putting them into production, significantly improving on the original Marconi design. The R1155 and T1154 were also produced by Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
, Plessey
Plessey
The Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the second world war by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies...
, and EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The company also manufactured the Wireless Set No. 19
Wireless Set No. 19
The Wireless Set No. 19 was a Second World War mobile radio transceiver designed for the British Army to give armoured troops reliable communications.- Specifications :...
tank radio at Woking, it was a Pye designed set made by several other British and American companies. In 1942 Ekco began production of its Wireless Set No. 46 portable man-pack radio, large numbers of these were made at the company's Woking and Southend-on-Sea factories.
Post war history
After the war, in addition to continuing with its defence and other electronics work, the factory became a producer of television and later car radioCar audio
Car audio/video , auto radio, mobile audio, 12-volt and other terms are used to describe the sound or video system fitted in an automobile. While 12-volt audio and video systems are also used, marketed, or manufactured for marine, aviation, and buses, this article focuses on cars as the most common...
sets.
It is estimated that by 1945 EKCO had over 8,000 people working for it across various sites making mains and portable TV's, mains and portable radios, radiograms, tape recorders, Car Radios
Car audio
Car audio/video , auto radio, mobile audio, 12-volt and other terms are used to describe the sound or video system fitted in an automobile. While 12-volt audio and video systems are also used, marketed, or manufactured for marine, aviation, and buses, this article focuses on cars as the most common...
, Electric Heaters
Electric heating
Electric heating is any process in which electrical energy is converted to heat. Common applications include space heating, cooking, water heating and industrial processes. An electric heater is an electrical appliance that converts electrical energy into heat...
, thermovent heaters, Electric Blankets
Electric blanket
In the US the electric blanket is a blanket with an integrated electrical heating device usually placed above the top bed sheet. In the UK and Commonwealth, electric blanket commonly refers to an electric mattress pad, which is placed below the bottom bed sheet. Electric blankets usually have a...
, plastic Toilet Seats
Toilet seat
A toilet seat is a hinged unit consisting of seat and lid which is bolted onto a toilet bowl for a flush toilet. A toilet seat consists of the seat itself, which may be contoured for the user to sit on, and the lid, which covers the toilet when it is not in use.If the toilet is located in a home...
, various plastic utensils, plastic bathroom fittings and 'Superbath' baby-baths. It was one of those sites in Malmesbury, Wiltshire that in 1948 production of the Thermotube Tubular Heaters started.
Ekco bought the Dynatron
Dynatron Radio Ltd
Dynatron Radio Ltd was the trade name used by H.Hacker & Sons for their wireless products. The firm started trading in 1927 and operated independently until being bought by Ekco in 1955...
business in 1954 and the Ferranti
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
brand in 1957.
Ekco merged with Pye in 1960 to form a new holding company British Electronic Industries Ltd, with C.O. Stanley as Chairman and E.K. Cole as Vice-Chairman.
The following year Cole resigned from the board and retired. He died on 18 November 1966 in the Bahamas due to a bathing accident, his wife Muriel having predeceased him in 1965.
In 1966 after an unsuccessful merger in 1960 with Pye and the company seeing a major decline in its TV and Radio production the EKCO / Pye (British Electronic Industries Ltd) merger received two major blows, the death of Eric Cole aged 65 and Pye being involved in a financial scandal, British Electronic Industries Ltd was up for sale. Also in 1966, Pye closed the Southend-on-Sea factory as part of its restructuring plan and by the early 1970s the Ekco brand had all but disappeared.
In 1967 Philips Electrical Industries
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
emerged as the new owner of the EKCO / Pye business which was then split into three different companies.
External links
- EKCO radar systems
- Air Ministry equipment numbers
- Malmesbury Memories accessed 2 April 2008
- EKCO history
- http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/EKCOFactoryRutherglen
- EKCO ASV Mk 19