Email Limited
Encyclopedia
Email Limited was a manufacturing conglomerate operating mainly in Australia
.
The company was formed from the merger of Electricity Meter Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd, established in 1912, and New System Telephones Pty Ltd, established in 1920. The company was incorporated in New South Wales
on 30 November 1934 as Electricity Meter & Allied Industries Ltd; it adopted the Email name (an acronym) on 20 October 1951. Email's original and longest running business is the manufacturing of electric, gas and water meters. At one time there would have been few houses in Australia which did not have an Email meter.
, which was refitted to manufacture electricity meters, pumps, radio parts and refrigerators. This factory is still in operation and remains the largest industrial manufacturing plant in inland New South Wales
, now operated by Electrolux
. The Orange Plant has the latest state of the art technologies and manufacturing concepts. Continued investment into the plant by Electrolux is aimed at making the Orange facility internationally competitive, whilst also maintaining a leadership role in the Australian domestic refrigerator market.
Operations were expanded to include US, New Zealand and Malaysian manufacturing facilities. In the 1980s the company acquired control of several large Australian manufacturing companies including Kelvinator Ltd (1980) (which was a branch of the US-based Kelvinator
business), McIlwraith-Davey Industries Ltd (1984), Simpson Holdings Limited
(1986), Brownbuilt Ltd (1988) and the steel process and distribution business of Bunge International (1989).
In April 1993 the company announced it would stop manufacturing industrial racking products and commercial/industrial stainless steel products. This led to the closure of the Caringbah plant in NSW and the Coburg plant in Victoria. Appliance production was located at Orange, New South Wales
and Adelaide
.
Some of these brand names were produced under licence from overseas companies.
The takeover of Email Limited was unusual in a number of respects. It took almost a year to finalise, and attracted the attention of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC).
At the time, Smorgon Steel
was keen to expand its wholesale steel distribution network and wished to acquire that business from Email. However, the dominant steel business in Australia at that time was BHP Steel. Email Limited was a major customer of BHP Steel for its appliance manufacturing business, and also a major wholesale distribution channel for BHP Steel. BHP was not happy about losing Email as a customer, and as a distributor to its smaller rival, Smorgon. BHP bought a 14% stake in Email Limited on the stockmarket to attempt to block the deal.
Smorgon was really only interested in acquiring the steel wholesale and distribution business of Email Limited, and planned to on-sell the other businesses. As consideration for the takeover offer to Email Limited shareholders, Smorgon offered an unconventional combination of cash and a security whose eventual value depended on the (unknown) future resale price of the Email businesses that Smorgon did not want to keep. This indeterminate offer did not receive an enthusiastic reaction from stockmarket participants and investors. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigated the deal because of concerns that the removal of the Email steel distribution business would significantly lessen competition in the wholesale steel distribution sector.
Eventually a deal was struck between the ACCC, BHP Steel and Smorgon to alleviate competition concerns, and the takeover went ahead.
The steel distribution business was acquired by Smorgon Steel
(itself later merged in 2007 with OneSteel
). The electricity and gas metering business was sold to private equity in 2003, and continues to manufacture electricity meters under the 'Email' brand name. The lock manufacturing business was sold to Assa Abloy
of Sweden
.
The competition concerns about the limited number of participants in the steel distribution business in Australia were revisited in 2006 and 2007, with the proposed merger of OneSteel and Smorgon Steel. This took more than a year to be completed due to protracted ACCC review.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The company was formed from the merger of Electricity Meter Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd, established in 1912, and New System Telephones Pty Ltd, established in 1920. The company was incorporated in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 30 November 1934 as Electricity Meter & Allied Industries Ltd; it adopted the Email name (an acronym) on 20 October 1951. Email's original and longest running business is the manufacturing of electric, gas and water meters. At one time there would have been few houses in Australia which did not have an Email meter.
History
In 1946 after World War II, Email obtained the former Orange Small Arms Factory at Orange, New South WalesOrange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
, which was refitted to manufacture electricity meters, pumps, radio parts and refrigerators. This factory is still in operation and remains the largest industrial manufacturing plant in inland New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, now operated by Electrolux
Electrolux
The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
. The Orange Plant has the latest state of the art technologies and manufacturing concepts. Continued investment into the plant by Electrolux is aimed at making the Orange facility internationally competitive, whilst also maintaining a leadership role in the Australian domestic refrigerator market.
Operations were expanded to include US, New Zealand and Malaysian manufacturing facilities. In the 1980s the company acquired control of several large Australian manufacturing companies including Kelvinator Ltd (1980) (which was a branch of the US-based Kelvinator
Kelvinator
Kelvinator is an appliance brand. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named...
business), McIlwraith-Davey Industries Ltd (1984), Simpson Holdings Limited
Simpson (appliance manufacturer)
Simpson was a manufacturer of household appliances based in Adelaide, Australia.Simpson was established in 1909. In 1963 they merged with Pope Industries Ltd to form Simpson Pope Holdings Limited. Pope was originally established as Popes Sprinker and Irrigation Company in 1925 and after World War...
(1986), Brownbuilt Ltd (1988) and the steel process and distribution business of Bunge International (1989).
In April 1993 the company announced it would stop manufacturing industrial racking products and commercial/industrial stainless steel products. This led to the closure of the Caringbah plant in NSW and the Coburg plant in Victoria. Appliance production was located at Orange, New South Wales
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
Brands
Consumer brands manufactured and sold by Email included:- Westinghouse
- Dishlex
- SimpsonSimpson (appliance manufacturer)Simpson was a manufacturer of household appliances based in Adelaide, Australia.Simpson was established in 1909. In 1963 they merged with Pope Industries Ltd to form Simpson Pope Holdings Limited. Pope was originally established as Popes Sprinker and Irrigation Company in 1925 and after World War...
- ChefChefA chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
- MettersMettersMetters was a brand of kitchen appliances originally made by Metters Limited, an Australian company established in Adelaide by Frederick Metters in 1891....
- KelvinatorKelvinatorKelvinator is an appliance brand. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named...
Some of these brand names were produced under licence from overseas companies.
Operations
The group operated through five distinct groups comprising:- the major appliances group (now owned by Electrolux)
- the metals distribution group (acquired by Smorgon SteelSmorgon SteelSmorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing business established in the 1980s by the Smorgon family of Melbourne. The chairman of the company board was Graham Smorgon....
) - the building products group (broken up and sold to private equity)
- the industrial products group (broken up and sold to private equity)
- the measurement and control group (now Ampy Email)
Takeover
In 2001 the company was the subject of a complex takeover which resulted in the various components of the business being taken over by different companies. The appliances business was taken over by Electrolux, and some of the former Simpson manufacturing plants in Adelaide were closed. Other plants in Adelaide, and Orange factory, remain in business.The takeover of Email Limited was unusual in a number of respects. It took almost a year to finalise, and attracted the attention of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent authority of the Australia government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974...
(ACCC).
At the time, Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing business established in the 1980s by the Smorgon family of Melbourne. The chairman of the company board was Graham Smorgon....
was keen to expand its wholesale steel distribution network and wished to acquire that business from Email. However, the dominant steel business in Australia at that time was BHP Steel. Email Limited was a major customer of BHP Steel for its appliance manufacturing business, and also a major wholesale distribution channel for BHP Steel. BHP was not happy about losing Email as a customer, and as a distributor to its smaller rival, Smorgon. BHP bought a 14% stake in Email Limited on the stockmarket to attempt to block the deal.
Smorgon was really only interested in acquiring the steel wholesale and distribution business of Email Limited, and planned to on-sell the other businesses. As consideration for the takeover offer to Email Limited shareholders, Smorgon offered an unconventional combination of cash and a security whose eventual value depended on the (unknown) future resale price of the Email businesses that Smorgon did not want to keep. This indeterminate offer did not receive an enthusiastic reaction from stockmarket participants and investors. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigated the deal because of concerns that the removal of the Email steel distribution business would significantly lessen competition in the wholesale steel distribution sector.
Eventually a deal was struck between the ACCC, BHP Steel and Smorgon to alleviate competition concerns, and the takeover went ahead.
The steel distribution business was acquired by Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel
Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing business established in the 1980s by the Smorgon family of Melbourne. The chairman of the company board was Graham Smorgon....
(itself later merged in 2007 with OneSteel
OneSteel
OneSteel is an Australian-based mining, ore processing and steel manufacturing company specialising in steel-long products for the construction, mining, transport and agricultural industries...
). The electricity and gas metering business was sold to private equity in 2003, and continues to manufacture electricity meters under the 'Email' brand name. The lock manufacturing business was sold to Assa Abloy
Assa Abloy
The Assa Abloy Group is a Swedish lock manufacturer, the world's largest by sales. Assa Abloy was formed in 1994 when ASSA AB was detached from Swedish security firm Securitas AB. Shortly thereafter the Finnish high-security lock manufacturer Abloy Oy was acquired. The company was introduced to...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The competition concerns about the limited number of participants in the steel distribution business in Australia were revisited in 2006 and 2007, with the proposed merger of OneSteel and Smorgon Steel. This took more than a year to be completed due to protracted ACCC review.
External links
- The Ampy-Email metering business
- The Simpson appliance business, now owned by Electrolux
- Speech by Graham Smorgon in 2001 addressing competition concerns in relation to the Email Limited takeover
- Email Ltd
- History of Email Limited and appliance business in Australia, 1945-1985
- Email Ltd merger, ACCC press release, 18 January 2001