Ferranti International PLC or simply Ferranti was a UK-based electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century, from 1885 until its bankruptcy in 1993. At its peak, Ferranti was a significant player in power grid systems, defence electronics, and computing, and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
It was founded by the pioneering electrical engineer Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti during 1885, and soon became a key supplier of electricity meters to numerous electric utility firms and power distribution companies. The firm branched into other electrical apparatus, such as transformers, while also establishing overseas subsidiaries, such as the Canada-based Ferranti Electric in 1912, to access further opportunities. Starting in the 1910s, Ferranti entered the defence sector, producing shells and fuzes during the First World War. In the Second World War, it played a key role in the development of both radar and the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system. During the Cold War, the company produced an extensive range of defense products, including advanced cockpit displays, radar transmitters, inertial navigation systems, and avionics for military aircraft, including the Tornado fighter jet. It was a pioneer in computer technology, launching the Ferranti Mark 1 in 1951, one of the world's first commercially available computers. Ferranti's global footprint extended beyond the UK, with factories and branch plants in Australia, Canada, Singapore, Germany, and the United States. The company had a strong presence in Edinburgh, including numerous branch-plants as well as an aviation facility.
During the mid 1970s, Ferranti received a bailout from the British government, and was partly-owned by the state until the early 1980s. In 1987, the company purchased the American defence contractor International Signal and Control (ISC); two years later, Ferranti announced that it had discovered irregularities in ISC, which turned out to have been allegedly heavily involved in illegal arms sales directed by US clandestine organizations. While ISG's CEO was jailed, the debt burden from the ill-advised ISG investment compelled Ferranti to divest divisions and declare bankruptcy in late 1993. Despite its eventual collapse, some parts of Ferranti's legacy continue today. The Belgian subsidiary survives as Ferranti Computer Systems, now part of Nijkerk Holding since 1994. Other divisions were acquired by major corporations, including BAE Systems, Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica), Ultra Electronics, Thales, and Elbit Systems, with some still operating under different names. Even outside of business, Ferranti left a cultural mark. The Ferranti Edinburgh Recreation Club, the Ferranti Mountaineering Club, and the Ferranti Ten-Pin Bowling League continue to exist. Additionally, Ferranti Thistle F.C., originally founded in 1943, evolved into Livingston F.C., a team competing in the Scottish Professional Football League.Electrical Blogging. (n.d.). *Electrical Blogging*. Retrieved from https://electricalblogging.com/
History
Beginnings
The British electrical engineer and inventor Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti established his first business Ferranti, Thompson and Ince in 1882. The company developed the Ferranti-Thompson Alternator. Ferranti focused on alternating current power distribution early on, and was one of the few UK experts. In 1885 Dr. Ferranti established a new business, with Francis Ince and Charles Sparks as partners, known as S.Z. de Ferranti.Ferranti Timeline – Museum of Science and Industry (Accessed 22 February 2012) According to J.F. Wilson,Ferranti and the British Electrical Industry J.F. Wilson Dr. Ferranti's association with the electricity meter persuaded Ince to partner him in this new venture, and meter development was fundamental to the survival and growth of his business for several decades to come.
Despite being a prime exponent of alternating current, Ferranti became an important supplier to many electric utility firms and power distribution companies for both AC and DC meters. In 1887, the London Electric Supply Corporation (LESCo) hired Dr. Ferranti for the design of their power station at Deptford. He designed the building, the generating plant and the distribution system and on its completion in October 1890, it was the first truly modern power station. It supplied high-voltage AC power at 10,000 volts, which was transformed to a lower voltage for consumer use where required.
Success followed and Ferranti started producing electrical equipment (especially transformers) for sale. Soon the company was looking for considerably more manufacturing space. Land prices in the London area were too high, so the company moved to Hollinwood in Oldham in 1896. In July 1901, Ferranti Limited was formed, specifically to take over the assets of S.Z. de Ferranti Ltd and raise equity, but failed to impress potential new investors as it was still dominated by family ownership. Over-optimistic market projections in the boom of 1896–1903, declining revenues and liquidity problems, forced the company bankers Parrs to send the company into receivership in 1903.
The business was restructured in 1905, Dr. Ferranti's shareholding being reduced to less than 10 percent. For the next eleven years the company was run by receiver managers and Dr. Ferranti was effectively excluded from commercial financial strategies. He spent much of this period working in partnership with the likes of J.P. Coats of Paisley on cotton spinning machinery and Vickers on re-superheating turbines.
Expansion Through the early part of the 20th century, electrical power was supplied by small companies, typically as an offshoot of plant set up to provide power to local industry. Each plant supplied a different standard, which made the mass production of domestic electrical equipment inefficient. In 1910, Dr. Ferranti made a presidential speech to the IEE addressing this issue, but it would be another sixteen years before the commencement of the National Grid in 1926.
In 1912, in a move driven by A.B. Anderson, the Ferranti Managing Director, Ferranti formed a company in Canada, Ferranti Electric, to exploit the overseas meter market. However, in 1914, two significant events happened, Anderson drowned on his return from Canada in the Empress of Ireland sinking and the outbreak of the First World War signalled an opportunity for Dr. Ferranti to once again get involved in day-to-day events in the company. He wanted to get involved in the manufacture of shells and fuzes, but it wasn't until 1915 that he finally convinced the board to accept this. As a result of this work, Ferranti were in a healthier financial position at the end of the conflict.
High voltage power transformers became an important product for Ferranti; some of the largest types weighed over one hundred tons. Dr. Ferranti's son Vincent joined the transformer department as manager in 1921 and was instrumental in expanding the work started by his father. After the death of Dr. Ferranti in 1930, he became the chairman and chief executive. In 1935, Ferranti purchased a disused wire drawing mill at Moston: from here it manufactured many "brown goods" such as televisions, radios, and electric clocks. The company later sold its radio and television interests to EKCO in 1957. Production of clocks ended in 1957 and other product lines phased out in 1960 Ferranti Instruments, based at Moston, developed various items for scientific measurements, including one of the first cone and plate viscometers. Ferranti built a new power transformer works at Hollinwood in the mid-1950s at a time when there was growth in the power supply distribution industry.
By 1974, Ferranti had become an important supplier to the defence industry, but its power transformer division was making losses, creating acute financial problems. This led to the company being bailed out by the UK government's National Enterprise Board, which took a 65 percent share of the company in return.Ferranti: A History - Building a Family Business 1882–1975 J.F. Wilson After restructuring, it was returned to the private sector in 1980 as a profitable company.
Defence electronics
During the Second World War, Ferranti became a major supplier of electronics, fuzes, valves, and was, through development of the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, heavily involved in the early development of radar in the United Kingdom. In the post-war era, this became a large segment of the company, with various branches supplying radar sets, avionics and other military electronics, both in the UK and the various international offices.
In 1943, Ferranti opened a factory at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh to manufacture gyro gunsights for the Spitfire aircraft. After the conflict, the firm set up Ferranti Research to complement this business which grew to employ 8,000 staff in 8 locations, becoming the birthplace of the Scottish electronics industry, and a major contributor to company profitability. Later products included solid state ring laser gyroscope.
From 1949, Ferranti-Packard assisted the Royal Canadian Navy develop DATAR (Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving). DATAR was a pioneering computerized battlefield information system that combined radar and sonar information to provide commanders with an "overall view" of a battlefield, allowing them to coordinate attacks on submarines and aircraft.
In the 1950s, work focused on the development of airborne radar, with the company subsequently supplying radars to most of the UK's fast jet and helicopter fleets. Today the Crewe Toll site (now part of Leonardo S.p.A.) leads the consortium providing the Euroradar CAPTOR radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
In the 1960s and 1970s, inertial navigation systems became an important product line for the company with systems designed for fast jet (Harrier, Phantom, Tornado), space and land applications. The electro-mechanical inertial navigation systems were constructed at the Silverknowes site in Edinburgh. In addition to their other military and civil applications, they were used in the ESA Ariane 4 and first Ariane 5 launches. Ferranti also produced the PADS (Position and Azimuth Determining System), an inertial navigation system which could be mounted in a vehicle and was used by the British Army.
With the invention of the laser in the 1960s, the company quickly established itself in the electro-optics arena. From the early 1970s, it was delivering the Laser Rangefinder and Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS) for the Jaguar and Harrier fleets, and later for Tornado. It supplied the world's first man-portable laser rangefinder/designator (Laser Target Marker, or LTM) to the British Army in 1974, and had notable successes in the US market, establishing Ferranti Electro-optics Inc in Huntington Beach, California. Its TIALD Pod (Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator) has been in almost constant combat operation on the Tornado since it was rushed into service during the first Gulf War.
From the 1960s through to the late 1980s, the Bristol Ferranti Bloodhound SAM, for which Ferranti developed radar systems, was a key money earner.
In 1970, Ferranti became involved in the sonar field through its involvement with Plessey in a new series of sonars, for which it designed and built the computer subsystems. This work later expanded when it won a contract for the complete Sonar 2050. The work was originally carried out at the Wythenshawe factory and then at Cheadle Heath. Takeovers of other companies gave it expertise in sonar arrays. This business later became Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems.