Vickers Sewing Machine
They say that Vickers was once the largest employer in Britain employing tens-of-thousands of workers. The giant company has faded but it has left us with a legacy of quality that still continues to this today in its products. But why was this massive concern making sewing machines?
Now funny things happen with history. Just before the outbreak of WWI, around 1914, the giant Vickers Corporation started looking at sewing machines. The company had, throughout its history, continually diversified and expanded. At their peek the company was said to employ over 70,000 people around the country, from ship building to steel castings, torpedoes to machine guns.
In 1914 Vickers was looking to diversify and sought out products to make after the war had finished that could be profitable in peacetime. Everyone thought that the Great War that was supposed to be over by Christmas!
Their gaze fell upon the humble sewing machine that every household wanted and the market was expanding.
There was also another benefit. Many of the German manufacturers of sewing machines were not able to sell their products to The British Empire, leaving a huge hole in the market that Vickers could jump into. Even better, the giant German Frister & Rossmann company were about to launch a new sewing machine. Not only were Vickers going to copy their machine but they would steal their market as well. Well, what could the Germans do about it?
At the time Frister & Rossmann’s were being imported from Berlin by an importer called Pierssene. He must have known that importing from Germany, when they went to war, would be difficult if not impossible.
As the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, 'every man knew war was coming.'
Pierssene possibly looked around Britain to find another manufacturer to supplement his supplies and keep his market going. His eye fell upon Vickers, or was it the other way around? Anyway it was a perfect match, he was an importer with all the designs, agents and markets, and they were a company that seemed to be able to make just about anything they set their minds to.
After some appraisals Vickers approved the idea and a site was sought to make their first sewing machines.
An image of industrial espionage jumps to mind of the former importer running off with the plans of F&R's new machine to Vickers. Mind you that, in turn, was just a copy of a Singer-with an added reverse stitch anyway. Most of the patents had run out by then and could not cover their new model, so basically anyone could copy it. There's no love lost in the sewing machine industry.
Article and photos here:
sewalot.com/vickers_sewing_machine_history.htm
Happy Window Wednesday!
Vickers Sewing Machine
They say that Vickers was once the largest employer in Britain employing tens-of-thousands of workers. The giant company has faded but it has left us with a legacy of quality that still continues to this today in its products. But why was this massive concern making sewing machines?
Now funny things happen with history. Just before the outbreak of WWI, around 1914, the giant Vickers Corporation started looking at sewing machines. The company had, throughout its history, continually diversified and expanded. At their peek the company was said to employ over 70,000 people around the country, from ship building to steel castings, torpedoes to machine guns.
In 1914 Vickers was looking to diversify and sought out products to make after the war had finished that could be profitable in peacetime. Everyone thought that the Great War that was supposed to be over by Christmas!
Their gaze fell upon the humble sewing machine that every household wanted and the market was expanding.
There was also another benefit. Many of the German manufacturers of sewing machines were not able to sell their products to The British Empire, leaving a huge hole in the market that Vickers could jump into. Even better, the giant German Frister & Rossmann company were about to launch a new sewing machine. Not only were Vickers going to copy their machine but they would steal their market as well. Well, what could the Germans do about it?
At the time Frister & Rossmann’s were being imported from Berlin by an importer called Pierssene. He must have known that importing from Germany, when they went to war, would be difficult if not impossible.
As the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, 'every man knew war was coming.'
Pierssene possibly looked around Britain to find another manufacturer to supplement his supplies and keep his market going. His eye fell upon Vickers, or was it the other way around? Anyway it was a perfect match, he was an importer with all the designs, agents and markets, and they were a company that seemed to be able to make just about anything they set their minds to.
After some appraisals Vickers approved the idea and a site was sought to make their first sewing machines.
An image of industrial espionage jumps to mind of the former importer running off with the plans of F&R's new machine to Vickers. Mind you that, in turn, was just a copy of a Singer-with an added reverse stitch anyway. Most of the patents had run out by then and could not cover their new model, so basically anyone could copy it. There's no love lost in the sewing machine industry.
Article and photos here:
sewalot.com/vickers_sewing_machine_history.htm
Happy Window Wednesday!