LEC Refrigeration
Encyclopedia
History
It was formed in 1942 by fishmongers Frank Purley and his brother Charles Reginald Purley (born 1910 in Twickenham) as Longford Engineering Company Ltd. Charles had moved to Bognor in 1929. It began making munitions for the war on Longford Road in Bognor, but began making experimental refrigerators from 1945. It made its first fridge in 1946, the year the Shripney Road site was obtained, with production beginning in 1947.The name was changed to LEC Refrigeration on 13 December 1954. Around 60% of its products were for the domestic market, with the rest for commercial use. Before 1956 it was selling more products abroad than in the UK.
It was based at the Shripney Works, a 14-acre site at Bersted
Bersted
Bersted is a civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 8,443. It is made up mainly of two villages, North Bersted and Shripney....
in the north of Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...
in Sussex, off Shripney Road (A29
A29 road
The A29 is a major road in England. It runs for approximately 34 miles from Capel, south of Dorking, leaving the A24, running through Billingshurst and Pulborough, crossing the South Downs at Bury Hill and passing Fontwell Park Racecourse before terminating on the B2166 on Bognor Regis sea...
) next to the Bognor Regis branch line
Bognor Regis branch line
The Bognor Regis branch line is a short branch railway line of the West Coastway Line, which runs from Brighton westwards. The branch line runs from Barnham in the north, southwards to Bognor Regis, where all trains terminate, and then reverse either to Barnham or Littlehampton...
. On the other side of the railway it had 33 acres of land, part of which was used as its own airfield. Charles Purley would be the company's Chairman for many years until October 1991. The airfield, codenamed EGKC with an asphalt surface, has not been used since 1994.
By 1960 only 13% of UK homes had a refrigerator, compared to 96% in the USA. Around that time Lec produced its Twelve-Six range of fridges, costing £179 each.
In 1970 the Co-op (Co-operative Wholesale Society
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
) decided to produce its own range of freezers, manufactured by Lec, which retailed at £93. In 1973 it opened a factory in Northern Ireland. In the 1970s its freezers were the Which?
Which?
Which? is a product-testing and consumer campaigning charity with a magazine, website and various other services run by Which? Ltd ....
best-buys.
By the early 1980s it had around 1,600 employees and had around 20% of the UK domestic refrigeration market. Its products had the Regis suffix, to denote where they were made. By the 1980s the company was known as LEC Refrigeration plc, an LSE-listed company.
In March 1993 the company laid off staff, and its workforce dropped to below 1,000, when it decided to import its compressors from Denmark instead of making them itself. From 1994 a new £35 million computerised factory was built on the neighbouring New Era industrial estate.
From August 2005 production of domestic fridges was moved to Whiston
Whiston, Merseyside
Whiston is a large village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley on Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 13,629...
at a site off the A57
A57 road
The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass , around the Ladybower Reservoir, through Sheffield and past Worksop...
near Whiston Hospital run by Glen Dimplex Home Appliances. There are plans to redevelop the Bognor site as a Sainsbury's. The factory is due to be demolished in mid-2011.
Special product division
From 1956 it opened its special products division which made fridges for hospitals, aircraft and laboratories. This is now the leading manufacturer of these types of refrigerators in the UK, trading as Lec Medical and Lec Commercial. Production of specialist fridges continued at Bognor from 2005-7, butproduction finally finished at Bognor Regis on 19 April 2007. The division is now owned by by Glen Dimplex Professional Appliances.
Motor racing
LEC Refrigeration Racing was formed by the company in the 1970s, and one of the drivers was David PurleyDavid Purley
David Charles Purley, GM, was a British racing driver born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. He participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at Monaco on 3 June 1973...
, known for the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix
1973 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on July 29, 1973. Zandvoort returned to the Formula 1 calendar following a year's absence for extensive safety upgrades to the race track including new asphalt, new barriers and a new race control tower...
, and son of the company's founder.
Ownership
It became a public company on 1 September 1964. In 1988 the company had a turnover of £56 million, making a £4 million profit. Charles Purley died in December 1991. He had been awarded an OBE in the 1986 New Years Honours List.Sime Darby
On 21 July 1994 it was bought by Sime DarbySime Darby
Sime Darby is Malaysia's leading multinational conglomerate involved in five core sectors: plantations, property, industrial, motors and energy & utilities, with a growing presence in healthcare...
of Malaysia. The company was valued at around £21 million, making around 300,000 units a year. In the early 1990s, prior to its sale, the company had been making a £3 million loss. By 1997 it claimed to be No.2 in the UK market, with a 15% share, after Hotpoint
Hotpoint
The Hotpoint Electric Heating Company is a British brand of domestic appliances. The brand is currently fully owned by Italy's Indesit....
with 18%.
Products
- Fridges
- Freezers
- Wine coolerWine accessoryA Wine accessory is generally any equipment that may be used in the storing or serving of wine. Wine accessories include many items such as wine glasses, corkscrews, and wine racks.-Wine glasses:...
s
Some of its energy-efficient products are registered for an enhanced capital allowance, which can be written off against taxable profit, as found on The Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is a not for dividend company limited by guarantee created by the UK government to help businesses and public organisations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, through improved energy efficiency and developing commercial low carbon technology...
's Energy Technology Product List.