A market town in an agricultural county, it is perhaps not surprising that Banbury's first venture into engineering manufacturing was into agricultural machinery. Bernhard Samuelson had been in business in Tours in France and, on visiting Banbury, saw the urgent need for labour saving equipment to support agricultural production. His company produced at their Britannia Works a prize winning turnip cutter, digging machines, mowing machines, chaff and linseed cutters and an oil cake breaker. Importantly he took a license to manufacture the American McCormick reaper of which he sold thousands. In 1871 he employed 500 people. He was a philanthropist, as well as a businessman who paid above average wages, and provided a good deal of the infrastructure of the growing town. He served as member of parliament for the town for some ten years. His business became a limited company in 1873 but closed in 1933.
Thus the approach of the Second World War saw the town without major manufacturing employment. The council managed to attract .The Northern Aluminium Company (later known as Alcan) of Canada. The company's role during the war would be vital, providing aluminium for Spitfires and Bailey Bridges. It became the town's largest employer with a workforce at one time of 2,300. During the early years of the war, the plant supplied 40% of aluminium sheet and extrusion vital for the manufacture of aircraft. Aluminium ingots were brought from as far a field as Canada and scrap from crashed aircraft would be melted down for re-use. The factory acted as the central store of aluminium for the Ministry of Aircraft Production Light Metals Committee which was based there. The factory continued its role as part of Alcan's research laboratory until closure in 2003. I write more about the UK aluminium industry in Vehicles to Vaccines.
After the war Banbury agreed to accept overspill from both London and Birmingham the latter of which relocated the Birds factory owned by General Foods of America and then Kraft of America.
Another company attracted was Automotive Products of Leamington about which I write more in my piece of Warwick and Leamington
Further reading
Ted Clark, Banbury (Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1992)
.jpg)
