Beans Industries Ltd, Tipton, Staffordshire : advert in GKN : Far & Wide, January 1948
An advert from the very well produced GKN Staff Magazine "Far and Wide" that appears to have been issued in the immediate post-WW2 period. Guest Keen & Nettlefold, better known as GKN, were at the time a major British industrial conglomerate based around the iron, steel and fixings business. Their roots went back as far as 1759 in Dowlais, south Wales, but the company's joint foundations went back to 1900 when Guest & Keen merged. In 1906 they acquired Nettlefolds of Birmingham, and over the coming decades they acquired significant holdings in allied industries, moving into tool making and component manufacturing. One major acquisition came in 1920 when the steel and iron concern of John Lysaght was purchased. Despite many reorganisations and divestitures they still exist.
The magazine contains various full page adverts for group and associated companies. This is for Beans Industries, a fascinating Tipton based company who had at one time been involved in car and commercial vehicle production. After this venture did not survive the depression, nor the financial input of the Hadfield steel company, it was relaunched in 1933 to make castings and drop forgings and in post war years it became part of Standard-Triumph and therefore British Leyland. As can be seen in this fine advert the company did effectively specialise in motor vehicle components.
One area of the company did form part of GKN, the Smethwick Drop Forging concern that had been again formed by Hadfields in 1933, and that GKN acquired in 1963.
Beans Industries Ltd, Tipton, Staffordshire : advert in GKN : Far & Wide, January 1948
An advert from the very well produced GKN Staff Magazine "Far and Wide" that appears to have been issued in the immediate post-WW2 period. Guest Keen & Nettlefold, better known as GKN, were at the time a major British industrial conglomerate based around the iron, steel and fixings business. Their roots went back as far as 1759 in Dowlais, south Wales, but the company's joint foundations went back to 1900 when Guest & Keen merged. In 1906 they acquired Nettlefolds of Birmingham, and over the coming decades they acquired significant holdings in allied industries, moving into tool making and component manufacturing. One major acquisition came in 1920 when the steel and iron concern of John Lysaght was purchased. Despite many reorganisations and divestitures they still exist.
The magazine contains various full page adverts for group and associated companies. This is for Beans Industries, a fascinating Tipton based company who had at one time been involved in car and commercial vehicle production. After this venture did not survive the depression, nor the financial input of the Hadfield steel company, it was relaunched in 1933 to make castings and drop forgings and in post war years it became part of Standard-Triumph and therefore British Leyland. As can be seen in this fine advert the company did effectively specialise in motor vehicle components.
One area of the company did form part of GKN, the Smethwick Drop Forging concern that had been again formed by Hadfields in 1933, and that GKN acquired in 1963.