After the Second World War
| At the end of the war companies generally found themselves in a
situation of having to change over to the manufacture of peace time
products. Wilton & Co came through this change very well indeed. A range
of household utensils was designed by my father, one of which was a
unique design for a Double Egg Poacher. Total sales of one million were
achieved on this product between 1946 and 1950. Other products included
bathroom cabinets, bun tins, tea infusers, steamers, etc. |
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A storeroom at Wilton's.
There are egg poachers and steamers all round, stacks of bun
tins and a couple of bathroom cabinets. |
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The steamer and
its constituent
parts. |
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The double egg
poacher and its
constituent parts. |
| A double egg poacher (top), a
single egg poacher (bottom left), and a steamer (bottom
right). |
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| This range of products went so well that the company
bought the premises it originally occupied and two adjoining factories
and two shops, thus enabling a considerable expansion of capacity to
take place. Running alongside the hardware items was the manufacture of
pressings for the motor and allied trades. In the late 1940s the
tightening up in the purities of aluminium used for utensils made this
part of the business not so lucrative as it had been in the past. The
motor trade was really booming at this time and it was decided to
concentrate the company's capacity in this area. |
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The main works on the corner
of Harford Street and Barr Street, Hockley, Birmingham. |
| The number 2 Factory, at 177 -
183 Great Hampton Road, Hockley. |
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| In 1949 the company became one of the principal suppliers
of metal pressings to Nuffield Metal Products Ltd for the new Morris
Minor. This continued right up to the finish of the model in 1957. We
were a major supplier of parts for the Mini, the Metro and many other
cars in the BL range. |
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Other major companies supplied were Triumph, Rover,
Land Rover and Jaguar.
Another major outlet was Lucas Girling and at one stage we were
their number one supplier for small presswork. One of our
principal products for them was the umbrella handbrake and in
later times lever handbrakes etc.
In the 40s and 50s parts were manufactured for the cycle and
motor cycle trades. These included handlebar lugs for B.S.A. and
Elswick Hopper; and the complete clutch assembly for the B.S.A.
Bantam motor cycle. |
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