Guest Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd
Other Business Names:
- Dowlais Iron Co
- Patent Nut & Bolt Co Ltd
- Keen, Arthur
- Guest Keen & Co Ltd
- Nettlefolds Ltd
- Lysaght, John, Ltd
- Sankey, Joseph, & Sons Ltd
- GKN Plc
- Westand Plc
Locations city-town / local authority / county1974 / region-state / country:
- Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, West Midlands, England
- Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, Wales, Wales
Sectors:
-
Transport equipment production
Aeroengines & components production
-
Extraction
Coal extraction
-
Fabricated metal products manufacture
Fastener production
-
Basic metals production
Iron, steel & related alloys production
-
Transport equipment production
Motor vehicle engines & components production
Notes:
Traces origins to Dowlais Iron Co established at Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, in 1759. Developed other plant and by mid 19th century was largest iron making business in world. Also owned collieries. 1850s started to make steel. Provided iron for range of uses including cannon balls and railway rails. 1900 merged with Patent Nut & Bolt Co Ltd of Birmingham, led by Arthur Keen, to form Guest Keen & Co Ltd. 1902 acquired Nettlefolds Ltd, woodscrew manufacturers, also of Birmingham, to form Guest Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd, a major UK business. 1920 merged with John Lysaght Ltd, iron & steel manufacturers, engineers and owners of Joseph Sankey & Sons Ltd, motor components manufacturers, etc. Iron and steel interests nationalised 1951, bought back in 1955 and renationalised in 1967 as part of British Steel Corp. Subsequently expanded non iron and steel interests and diversified into new areas such as defence vehicles and industrial services. 1980s renamed GKN Plc. 1988 acquired Westand Plc but helicopter interests subsequently sold. In 2010 continuing as a major internationally spread car components, aerospace, powder metallurgy business
Publications:
- A Handy Group to Know. The GKN Group of Companies by Unknown
- 'A pattern of rationalization. Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd' in T E Elias, British Commerce and Industry. The post war transition, 1919-1934 by Elias, T E
- GKN in Brief by Unknown
- GKN. The making of a business, 1759-2009 by Lorenz, Andrew
- Guest Keen & Nettlefolds. An outline history of this group of companies with a list of their manufactures by Unknown
- Guest Keen & Nettlefolds Group of Companies by Thomas, Earl B
- 'Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd, 1901-14' in T J Baldwin et al, Cash Flow and Corporate Finance in Victorian Britain. Cases from the coal industry, 1860-1914 by Baldwin, T J, R H Berry & R A Church
- History of GKN. Volume 1, Innovation and enterprise, 1759-1918 by Jones, Edgar
- History of GKN. Volume 2, The growth of a business, 1918-1945 by Jones, Edgar
- 'Marketing the Nettlefold woodscrew by GKN, 1850-1939' in R P T Davenport Hines (ed), Markets and Bagmen. Studies in the history of marketing and British industrial performance, 1830-1939 by Jones, Edgar
- Merthyr, the Crucible of Modern Wales, 1760-1912 by England, Joe
- Nettlefolds. A genealogical account of the family of Nettlefold settled in the county of Surrey by record from the 14th century by Crofton, Cyril A
- 'Problems associated with the manufacture and sale of bolts, nuts and screws' in R S Edwards & H Townsend (eds), Studies in Business Organisation. A supplement to 'Business Enterprise' by Bowlby, Anthony
- Robust strategies. Lessons from GKN, 1759-2013 by Carr, Chris, & Andrew Lorenz
- 'Steel and engineering overseas. Guest Keen & Nettlefolds' multinational growth, 1918-1965' in G Jones (ed), British Multinationals. Origins, management and performance by Jones, Edgar
- 'Strategy and structure of cotton and steel enterprise in Britain, 1900-1939' in K Nakagawa (ed), Proceedings of the Fuji Conference, 1, 1974. Strategy and structure of big business by Yonekawa, Shin-ichi
- 'The strategist. Sir Trevor Holdsworth' in W Goldsmith & B Richards, The New Elite. The secrets of Britain's top chief executives' success by Goldsmith, Walter, & Berry Richards
- Things We Make by Unknown
- UK Fastener Industry. The management of decline by Spurrell, David
Groups:
Other Business Names:
- Dowlais Iron Co
- Patent Nut & Bolt Co Ltd
- Keen, Arthur
- Guest Keen & Co Ltd
- Nettlefolds Ltd
- Lysaght, John, Ltd
- Sankey, Joseph, & Sons Ltd
- GKN Plc
- Westand Plc
Locations city-town / local authority / county1974 / region-state / country:
- Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, West Midlands, England
- Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, Wales, Wales
Sectors:
- Transport equipment production Aeroengines & components production
- Extraction Coal extraction
- Fabricated metal products manufacture Fastener production
- Basic metals production Iron, steel & related alloys production
- Transport equipment production Motor vehicle engines & components production
Notes:
Traces origins to Dowlais Iron Co established at Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, in 1759. Developed other plant and by mid 19th century was largest iron making business in world. Also owned collieries. 1850s started to make steel. Provided iron for range of uses including cannon balls and railway rails. 1900 merged with Patent Nut & Bolt Co Ltd of Birmingham, led by Arthur Keen, to form Guest Keen & Co Ltd. 1902 acquired Nettlefolds Ltd, woodscrew manufacturers, also of Birmingham, to form Guest Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd, a major UK business. 1920 merged with John Lysaght Ltd, iron & steel manufacturers, engineers and owners of Joseph Sankey & Sons Ltd, motor components manufacturers, etc. Iron and steel interests nationalised 1951, bought back in 1955 and renationalised in 1967 as part of British Steel Corp. Subsequently expanded non iron and steel interests and diversified into new areas such as defence vehicles and industrial services. 1980s renamed GKN Plc. 1988 acquired Westand Plc but helicopter interests subsequently sold. In 2010 continuing as a major internationally spread car components, aerospace, powder metallurgy businessPublications:
- A Handy Group to Know. The GKN Group of Companies by Unknown
- 'A pattern of rationalization. Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd' in T E Elias, British Commerce and Industry. The post war transition, 1919-1934 by Elias, T E
- GKN in Brief by Unknown
- GKN. The making of a business, 1759-2009 by Lorenz, Andrew
- Guest Keen & Nettlefolds. An outline history of this group of companies with a list of their manufactures by Unknown
- Guest Keen & Nettlefolds Group of Companies by Thomas, Earl B
- 'Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd, 1901-14' in T J Baldwin et al, Cash Flow and Corporate Finance in Victorian Britain. Cases from the coal industry, 1860-1914 by Baldwin, T J, R H Berry & R A Church
- History of GKN. Volume 1, Innovation and enterprise, 1759-1918 by Jones, Edgar
- History of GKN. Volume 2, The growth of a business, 1918-1945 by Jones, Edgar
- 'Marketing the Nettlefold woodscrew by GKN, 1850-1939' in R P T Davenport Hines (ed), Markets and Bagmen. Studies in the history of marketing and British industrial performance, 1830-1939 by Jones, Edgar
- Merthyr, the Crucible of Modern Wales, 1760-1912 by England, Joe
- Nettlefolds. A genealogical account of the family of Nettlefold settled in the county of Surrey by record from the 14th century by Crofton, Cyril A
- 'Problems associated with the manufacture and sale of bolts, nuts and screws' in R S Edwards & H Townsend (eds), Studies in Business Organisation. A supplement to 'Business Enterprise' by Bowlby, Anthony
- Robust strategies. Lessons from GKN, 1759-2013 by Carr, Chris, & Andrew Lorenz
- 'Steel and engineering overseas. Guest Keen & Nettlefolds' multinational growth, 1918-1965' in G Jones (ed), British Multinationals. Origins, management and performance by Jones, Edgar
- 'Strategy and structure of cotton and steel enterprise in Britain, 1900-1939' in K Nakagawa (ed), Proceedings of the Fuji Conference, 1, 1974. Strategy and structure of big business by Yonekawa, Shin-ichi
- 'The strategist. Sir Trevor Holdsworth' in W Goldsmith & B Richards, The New Elite. The secrets of Britain's top chief executives' success by Goldsmith, Walter, & Berry Richards
- Things We Make by Unknown
- UK Fastener Industry. The management of decline by Spurrell, David