FKI (company)

FKI was a British engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Loughborough, Leicestershire. For many years listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, it was taken private by buyout firm Melrose in July 2008.

FKI
TypePrivate
IndustryEngineering
Founded1920
HeadquartersLoughborough, UK
OwnerMelrose
Websitewww.fki.co.uk

History

The company was founded in 1920 as a manufacturer of parking meters, trading as Fisher Limited. The name was subsequently changed to Fisher Karpark Industries ('FKI'). In 1987 it merged with Babcock International to form FKI Babcock[1] but then demerged the heavy engineering parts of Babcock again in 1989.[2] The Company was taken private by buyout firm Melrose in July 2008[3] in a deal worth over £500 million.[4]

Organisation and subsidiaries

FKI plc has a large number of subsidiaries, which it divides into four groups:

  • Energy Technology - Electrical generation apparatus
  • Lifting Products and Services - Lifting apparatus (wire ropes, hooks etc.). The waste recycling businesses operated by FKI (recycling machinery) are also incorporated into this section.
  • Hardware - Domestic fittings - door handles, hinges etc. as well as office fittings.
  • FKI Logistex - Product handling automation - conveyor belts, RFID implementation, baggage handling automation etc.

Energy technology
Main articles: Brush Turbogenerators, Brush Traction, Brush Transformers, and Hawker Siddeley Switchgear

The Brush group of companies are incorporated into this section, including Brush Turbogenerators manufacturers of mechanical to electrical generation systems,[5] Brush-Barclay and Brush Traction, both involved in rail locomotive manufacture and repair[6] (on 28 February 2011 Wabtec announced that it had acquired Brush Traction for US$31 million)[7] and Brush Transformers which manufactures electrical transformers and switchgear.[8]

Other companies in this group are FKI switchgear (now renamed Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Ltd.) which incorporates Brush switchgear, Whipp & Bourne and others.[9]

Harrington Generators International (HGI) manufacture generator sets for rail, road, and light commercial and agricultural use, as well as supplying the British Army (MoD) with generators.[10]

MarelliMotori also produces electrical generators as well as induction motors.[11]

Lifting products and services

Acco Material Handling manufactures cranes, hoists and other crane components as well as hand trucks.[12]

Harris Waste Management Group, Inc manufactures balers and shredders for the waste recycling sector.[13]

Welland Forge produces impression die forgings for the automotive, construction, agricultural and recreational markets.[14]

Hardware

Truth Hardware corporation manufactures commercial window and doors, and fittings.[15]

Weber Knapp produces office fittings including counterbalance devices.[16]

Former businesses

FKI Logistex

Logistex produces a full range of item handling automation systems including baggage handling, storage and retrieval systems, conveyors, library systems including RFID solutions, warehousing automation and sorting systems.[17] The company's North American operations were acquired by Intelligrated in June 2009.[18] The European Logistex operations known as Crisplant a/s, who specialized in airport systems, tilt tray and crossbelt sorters, were acquired by BEUMER GmbH in July 2009.

References
  1. National Archives
  2. "Records of Babcock Industrial & Electrical Products Ltd Archived March 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine" Glasgow University Archive Services
  3. Bland, Ben (2 July 2008). "Ebbing confidence and bank rumours push down FTSE 100". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  4. Kavanagh, Michael (28 June 2008). "Small-cap company meets big ambitions". Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  5. BRUSH Turbogenerators
  6. Brush Traction BRUSH Barclay and BRUSH Traction
  7. "Wabtec buys Brush Traction". Railway Gazette International. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  8. BRUSH Transformers Ltd Archived 2009-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Switchgear: Whipp & Bourne and Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Limited
  10. Harrington Generators International
  11. MarelliMotori
  12. accomhs.com Acco Material Handling Solutions
  13. harriswaste.com Harris Waste Management Group, Inc
  14. wellandforge.com Welland Forge
  15. Truth Hardware Corporation
  16. Weber Knapp Company
  17. FKI Logistex
  18. Intelligrated Completes Acquisition of FKI Logistex Archived 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine 23/6/2009 www.intelligrated.com
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