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Founded in 1838,[1] George Kent Ltd was initially a manufacturer of household gadgets, then a manufacturer of munitions during World War One, and became the largest British manufacturer of instruments for industrial control systems,[2] prior to its acquisition by Brown Boveri in 1974.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Instrumentation, Military, Domestic appliances |
| Founded | 1838 |
| Successor | Brown Boveri Kent in 1974 |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | Luton, St Neots |
Key people | Walter George Kent |
| Products | Artillery fuses, linear actuators, flow meters, ice boxes, clear view screens |
The company was founded in 1838.[3]
The company was incorporated as a limited company in 1907,[1] and was managed by the founder's son Walter George Kent.
World War One
During World War One, Kents had a factory in Luton with over 3,000 workers, mostly munitionettes, in this case producing fuses for artillery shells.[3] They were producing 140,000 shell fuses a week.[4] After the war, this grew to 5,000 workers.
International growth
George Kent grew to have significant reach worldwide, including establishing a subsidiary in Malaysia in 1936.[5] Currently, as an independent organisation, the Malaysian company George Kent provide engineering and metering solutions in South-East Asia,[6] with a diverse set of activities including the integration of railways and the manufacture of water meters.[6]
Acquisitions and George Kent Group
In 1968, George Kent Ltd acquired Fielden Electronics[7] and Cambridge Instrument Company[8][9][10] forming the George Kent Group. This was the UK's largest industrial instrument manufacturer. Tony Benn as Minister of Technology answered questions about the Cambridge Instruments takeover in Parliament.[11]
Fielden Electronics
Fielden Electronics of Wythenshawe, Manchester produced a data recorder known as the Servograph[12][13] and a capacitance-sensing proximity meter[14] alongside a variety of scientific instruments and process control devices.[15] These included the bikini[16] temperature controller, a temperature recorder,[17] and the E296[18] level controller.[19]
Acquisition by Brown Boveri
An acquisition in 1974 of George Kent Group by Swiss instrument company Brown Boveri caused a rename to Brown Boveri Kent. At the same time, the company Scientific and Medical Instruments was spun-out which eventually became Cambridge Instrument Company,[20] resurrecting that brand. Brown Boveri eventually merged with ASEA and is today the industrial giant ABB. Kent is maintained as a brand within ABB.[2]
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Domestic equipment
Kent's breakthrough product was a knife sharpener, first available around 1850.[21][22] Later products included an ice cabinet, being a well-insulated damp-proof box suitable for storing meat and dairy products; a miniaturised one appeared in Queen Mary's Dolls' House.[23]
Industrial instrumentation
Early Kent industrial products include water flow meters.[24] The company motto was "From drops to rivers".[25]
Power cylinders were first manufactured in the 1950s in Luton.[26] These are a type of linear actuator featuring a control loop where the position of the actuator is governed by some input pressure signal. Power cylinders continue to be manufactured, alongside similar linear actuators featuring digital control technology.[27]
Other items
Kent's produced the clear view screen, a spinning transparent panel that provided visibility in wet weather. Kent also produced avionic equipment, including aircraft fuel gauges and fuel flow meters.[28]
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