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British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England and founded as a subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE) of Schenectady, New York USA. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. BTH was taken into British ownership and amalgamated with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928 to form Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), but the two brand identities were maintained until 1960. The holding company, Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), later merged with GEC, the remnants of which exist today as Marconi Corporation plc. In the 1960s BTH apprenticeships were highly thought-of, with apprentices exposed to production of a wide range of industrial products. Each year in Rugby there was a big parade of floats run by its apprentices, many of whom lodged in the nearby Coton House apprentice hostel. In 1980, G.E.C. Turbine Generators Ltd, on the Rugby site, was awarded a Queen's Awards for Enterprise. ==History== *1886: The company Laing, Wharton and Down formed, to sell products from the American Electric Corporation. They soon won a contract for electrical lighting for the east end of London. *1892: General Electric in USA was created by the merger of Thomson-Houston and Edison General Electric Company. *1893: The American Electric Company became Thomson-Houston. *1894: British Thomson-Houston was formed. *1896 May: Laing, Wharton and Down was renamed as BTH. BTH got production licenses for the American Electric Company's products, and soon started setting up factories in the English Midlands. For much of the late 19th century they competed for electrical generation and distribution contracts with British Westinghouse, mirroring the same company's battles in the US between their parents, General Electric (created by the merger of Thomson-Houston and Edison General Electric Company in 1892) and Westinghouse. BTH became mainly associated with Rugby, Warwickshire, due to its good accessibility by rail and a local coal supply. *1898 December 22: Opened the Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company *1899: BTH chose Rugby. *1900: BTH bought Glebe Farm (on the west side of Mill Road north of the railway) for £10,000, from Thos. Hunter & Co., to build their factory on it. *1900: The Power Act 1900 was passed. It let BTH and British Westinghouse get new contracts to supply electric power to large areas. *1901 April 4: Opened the Isle of Thanet Electric Tramways *1902 March: BTH opened their factory in Mill Road in 1902 making electric motors and generators. *1902: BTH got a license to produce the Curtis steam turbine, which became one of their major products. *1902 June: Opened the Chatham and District Light Railways Company *1904: BTH started making turbines. *1905: BTH made its first turbo-alternator. *1907: BTH started a joint venture with Wolseley Motors to make petrol-electric buses. *1909: BTH supplied major coal-fired steam generators to London to power an electric trolley system that was being set up. *1911: BTH got licenses for all of General Electric's drawn-wire light bulbs, which they produced under the Mazda trademark. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「British Thomson-Houston」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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