Tailored Global Solutions
A history to be proud of.
Established in 1867, Birkby's was a pioneer of industry in Spen Valley. With the brothers Arnold and Freddie Birkby at the helm, it grew to be the biggest employer in the district. Trams were the boom industry at the beginning of the 20th Century and Birkby's started to dominate overhead line materials production and electrical insulation.
During World War One the brothers worked with Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite. Birkby's became the first British firm to manufacture moulded articles.
Although Birkby's retained its other interests (tanning, carding of fibres and textile machinery manufacture), plastics eventually dominated and it was the ability to spot trends and evolve that ensured the survival of the company.
The Automotive industry was next to boom (1920s) and Birkby's was well placed due to its involvement with the trams. It produced dashboards (sawdust filled phenolic), fuse assemblies and boxes, light reflectors, clutch discs and brake linings. London Passenger Transport was its biggest customer.
In 1926 Birkby's started producing telephone handsets for GPO. Later it also produced parts for wireless's (another boom industry), including plastic casings, knobs, valve bases, coil bobbins and loudspeaker chassis.
In the same year, Birkby's became Birkby's Limited. It was one of the founder members of The British Plastics Moulding Trade Association, formed in 1932.
In the 1950's the company started producing thermoplastics (acrylic) as well as thermoset plastics (phenol/formaldehyde). It moulded the first acrylic telephone cases.
In 1958, the last family tie, Freddie Birkby retired and Birkby's was sold to its biggest customer; AT&E. The name was kept due to its local association.
Birkby's expanded with a new thermoplastic moulding shop.
In 1961 Birkby's was taken over by the Plessey Company. This took it into the defence, avionics and electronics industries. The ownership lasted 28 years during which sales increased tenfold.
In February 1968, a disastrous fire caused £2.5m worth of damage. Within 48 hours 10 presses were working and whatever work could not be done on site was subcontracted out. A new injection shop was completed by the end of the year with three times the original area.
In the 1970's 1.8 million telephone sets were produced per year.
In 1972 Birkby's merged with Viking Industrial Plastics to become Birkby's Viking Ltd.
