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Electrical Equipment
Manufacturers |
William Sanders &
Company. Electrical Switchgear and Fuses |
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An advert from 1949. |
William Sanders & Company started in 1894 and
transferred to a small factory in Ridding Lane in 1897,
occupying a small corner of the later site. The firm
became a limited company in 1934 and a public company in
1951.
Falcon Electrical Works grew to cover a large area
and became known locally as the Ottermill. The company
manufactured electrical switchgear and fuse gear to a
high standard and undertook a lot of pioneering design
work in this field.
Switched fuse boxes were produced, ranging from
small domestic versions to large 3 phase units for
industrial use. One of the company's specialities was 3
phase, high current switchgear, much of which must still
be in use.
Sanders also produced fused plugs, 13 amp
sockets, with or without a switch, fuse holders, and
fuses. |
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The
layout of the factory. |
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The
location of the factory. |
An aerial view of the factory
from the 1930s. Ridding Lane is on the right, with
Addison Terrace on the left. In front of the factory
in Ridding Lane is the United Methodist Church. |
Assembling 'Sandamax' fused switch boxes.
Assembling large fuse carriers, in the
general assembly area.
Assembling unbreakable plugs.
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Other products included the 'Sandsbury' consumer
unit, the 'Sandella' cooker control unit, and
unbreakable 13 amp plugs. The company's switchgear was
available in small, standard, off the shelf units, or
for large installations which were designed to meet
individual customer's requirements. A large section of
the factory was devoted to the assembly of made to order
switchgear, for installations of all sizes and types.
Most of the components such as cases, busbars, switches,
and contacts were made in the factory, where every item
was thoroughly inspected and tested before leaving. All
design and development was carried out on the site,
including the building of prototype products by an
expert model maker. |
| Many of the products were exported all over the
world and the relationship between management and
employees was always good, with a warm and friendly
atmosphere prevailing at the works. The business was
taken over by Westinghouse, the American company, who
soon closed the Falcon Electrical Works in the early
1980s and transferred the business and some of the staff
to Hungerford, Berkshire.
The Ridding Lane factory was demolished in September
1987. |
An advert from the early 1960s. |
The Power Centre Co. Ltd.,
Wednesbury's other major manufacturer of all kinds of
electrical power equipment. |
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Another electrical manufacturing
company, which moved to the town from Leicester in the
late 1940s. |
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The Power
Centre. Electrical Trunking
The Power Centre Company Limited
was founded in Liverpool in 1901 and moved to Wednesbury
in 1908 on the corner of Lloyd Street and Meeting
Street. The company manufactured busbar trunking, cable
trunking and electrical distribution equipment. In 1958
a second factory was opened in Elwell Street and
included some of the most up-to-date plant. It became a
member of the Electrical Division of Tube Investments
Limited and its products were distributed through the
branches of the Simplex Electric Company Limited.
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