David Brown

Founded in 1860 as a pattern manufacturing company, by 1873 David Brown had focused on gear systems, and by 1898 was specialising in machine cut gears. The company then moved in 1902 to Park Works at Huddersfield, where the firm is based today. When David Brown died in 1903, his sons Percy and Frank took over and began manufacture of complete gear units with bearings and shafts worm drive gears. Gearing manufactured by David Browns Ltd. and powered by electric motors manufactured by Brook Crompton (Electric) Motors, whose factory was in Brockholes are used to rotate the top of the BT Tower in London.[1]

By the end of World War I the workforce had increased from 200 to 1000 as they started building propulsion units for warships, and drive mechanisms for armaments. In 1913 they established a joint venture in America with Timken for worm drive units. By 1921 the company was the largest worm gear manufacturer in the world.[2]

In 1930 the company took over P.R. Jackson Ltd, another local firm of gear manufacturers and steel founders. Percy's eldest son (Sir David Brown) became managing director in 1931 following Percy's death, with Frank becoming chairman. The Firm formed another overseas joint venture with Richardson Gears (Pty) Ltd of Footscray, Victoria, Australia in 1934. The company obtained a patent for a tank transmission using controlled differential steering system, known as the Merritt-Brown system in 1935.