Inward Investment

This is an area that had grown massively in recent years but stretches back well into the nineteenth century. Whilst it had been evident before, the interwar years saw a significant increase in USA inward investment; the iconic Hoover building comes from the period. Indeed, it was not only the USA, Electrolux of Sweden was Hoover’s main competitor in the domestic white goods market. In photography, Kodak had a very significant UK operation, larger than the native Ilford. Looking at employment figures for 1935, foreign owned manufacturers ranked among Britain’s biggest employers. AEI ranked 11th with 30,000 employees; Singer Sewing Machines, 43rd with 8,103; NCR, 46th with 8,000; STC 52nd with 7,911; Ford, 55th with 7,128; Vauxhall, 64th with 6,726; English Electric, 67th with 6,091; and Kodak, 91st with 4,400. We can puts these numbers in context by comparing the largest company overall, Unilever with 66,000.

I list the companies I have identified along with their home country and main location in Britain. I mention some of the more recent sales of British companies to overseas owners in this link.

Addressograph (USA) – Hemel Hempstead
Alcoa: Swansea
Atlas Copco (Sweden) – Hemel Hempstead
Azko Nobel (Sweden) – Slough

Babcock & Wilcox (USA) : Western Scotland (Renfrew)
Bayer: Reading, Cambridge
Bell Telephone Company (USA) – patents rights were licensed by
Birds Eye: East Anglia (Great Yarmouth)
Black and Decker (USA) – Northampton
BMW (Germany) – Oxford, Crewe (Rolls-Royce Motors)
Borg Warner (USA) – Letchworth
Bosch (Germany): Cardfiff
Bristol Meyers Squibb: Chester
British Thomson-Houston (USA): Rugby, HBSTMW 12
Brown and Root (USA) – Aberdeen
Brush (USA) became part of Hawker Siddeley – Loughborough
Burroughs Office Machines (USA) –

Calsonic Kansei (Marelli) – Llanelli
Caterpillar (USA) – Leicester, Peterlee
Chrysler (USA) owned the Rootes Group
Citroen (France) – Slough
Coca Cola (USA) – Milton Keynes, Uxbridge
Cummins (USA) Darlington

Dell: Bracknell
Digital Systems (sold to Mororola): Eastern Scotland (South Queensferry)
Du Pont (USA) – Hemel Hempstead

EDF (France)
Edison (USA) – partnered Swan
Electrolux (Sweden) – Luton
Epson (USA) – Hemel Hempstead
Esso (USA) –

Fiskars (Finland) bought Wedgewood, Royal Doulton and Waterford Glass
Ford (USA) – East London, Basildon, Slough, Southampton, Liverpool

General Electric (USA) – Southampton, Stafford
General Foods (USA) – Uxbridge
General Instruments (USA) – Eastern Scotland (Glenrothes)
General Motors (USA) bought Vauxhall
Gillette (USA) – Slough
Goodyear (USA) – Southampton

Hewlett Packard: Bracknell
Hoechst: Northwest Elsmere Port
Honda (Japan) – Swindon
Honeywell (USA) – Hemel Hempstead, Bracknell
Hoover (USA) – Metroland (Perivale)
Horlicks: Slough
Hughes Aircraft (now Raytheon): Eastern Scotland (Glenrothes)
Huntsman Chemical Company (USA) –

IBM (USA) – Southampton
Ingersol (USA)
International Harvester (USA) Doncaster, Bradford
International Signal (USA) took over Ferranti and collapsed

Jefferson Chemical Company (USA): Swansea
John Deere (USA) no longer manufacture in UK East Midlands (Langar)
Johnson & Johnson (USA) – Slough, Blackpool, Leeds

Kellogg (USA) – Manchester, Wrexham
Kimberly Clark: Barrow in Furness, Northfleet
Kodak (USA) – Hemel Hempstead
Komatsu: Newton Aycliffe

Leonardo (Italy): Yeovil

Mars (USA) – Slough
Massey Ferguson (Canada): Northern Ireland (Moira), Coventry
McDonald Douglas (USA) – Hemel Hempstead
Michelin (France): Stoke
Minnesota Mining 3M (USA): Bracknell, Swansea
Mitsubishi (Japan) –
Motorola (USA) Eastern Scotland (South Queensferry)

Nabisco (USA) (Shredded Wheat) – Welwyn Garden City
NCR: Eastern Scotland (Dundee), North London
NEC: Eastern Scotland (Livingston)
Nestle: North West (Carlisle), Burton on Trent, Halifax
New Holland (USA) – Basildon
Nippon Tyres (Japan)
Nissan (Japan) – Middlesbrough
NSK (Japan) – Newark

Otis (USA)

PACCAR (USA)
Panasonic: Bracknell
Pedigree Pet Foods (USA) – Melton Mowbray
Pepsico (USA)
Peugeot (France)
Phillips (Holland) bought Mullard: South London, Blackburn
Pitney Bowes (USA)
Proctor & Gamble (USA)

Quartztec Europe (owned by Motorola): East Scotland (East Kilbride)

Raytheon (USA) bought Cossor – Eastern Scotland
Remington (USA)
Renault (France)
Rhone Poulenc (France/USA)

Sarah Lee (USA) bought Courtaulds textiles
Siemens (German): Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Lincoln, HBSTMW 6, VTV 2, 8, 9, 15, 17
Singer (USA); Glasgow
Sony (Japan): Bridgend
Sperry Rand (USA): Bracknell
Spirella (USA): Letchworth
St Gobain (France): Nottingham, Stoke, Loughborough
Standard Telephones (USA) subsequently British public company
Sun Microsystems (Oracle): Eastern Scotland (Linlithgow)

Tata Chemicals: Northwich
Tata Steel: Port Talbot
Texas Instruments (USA)
Toyota (Japan): Derby, Deeside