Morphy Richards

Morphy Richards
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryHome appliances
Founded8 July 1936
HeadquartersTalbot Road, Swinton, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Area served
Australia, United Kingdom, India, Israel
Key people
CEO: Vicky Philemon
ParentGlen Dimplex
Websitewww.morphyrichards.com

Morphy Richards is a British brand of electrical appliances headquartered in Swinton, in South Yorkshire, England. Its products were formerly made at its historic home of Mexborough, and in other facilities across the United Kingdom. However, since the 1990s, all of its manufacturing has been carried out in the Far East.[1]

Product range

Morphy Richards specialises in toasters, hair dryers, bread makers, kettles and sandwich toasters and other household appliances. In its early stage it also made refrigerators and washer-dryers, but they were later made by Hotpoint. Morphy Richards is owned by the Irish Glen Dimplex electronics group. They[who?] also make Digital Radio Mondiale-compatible digital radios, and Morphy Richards in India still make a dry iron, one of very few companies to do so.[2]

History

A 1950s Morphy-Richards iron with original box

Donal Morphy of Chislehurst, and Charles Richards of Farnborough, Kent, met whilst working at Sydney S Bird and Sons[3] and formed Morphy-Richards Ltd on 8 July 1936 at an oast house in St Mary Cray in Kent. Morphy and Richards were joint managing directors, and had raised £1,000 starting capital. The company began making electric fires and, from March 1938, electric irons. During World War II, its factories made components for the aircraft industry.

A. Reyrolle & Company took 30% of the company in June 1944 and its general manager was on the board of directors. Exports accounted for around 15% of turnover, helped by subsidiary companies in Australia and South Africa. It later opened a Canadian subsidiary. The company was producing around 2,000 irons per day.[when?]

On 1 May 1947, it became a public company and merged with Astral Equipment Ltd, a company in Dundee, Scotland that made spin dryers and refrigerators. Astral became a wholly owned subsidiary. George Wansbrough was the company chairman from 1944 to 1954.

In 1949, Morphy Richards produced its first automatic toaster which used a bi-metallic strip. It also produced the Simon electric floor scrubber. In 1953, it produced its first hairdryer and claimed to have 90% of the market six years later. In 1954, it introduced a steam iron, which were still comparatively revolutionary twenty years later.

At the same time, it introduced electrical convector heaters and panel heaters (ceramic heaters). By 1957, it was the United Kingdom's leading provider of electric blankets, had produced its 10 millionth electric iron, and was producing 60% of the toasters made in the United Kingdom.

In June 1957, the company bought Yelsen Ltd, a manufacturer of electric blankets at Ruxley in Kent, for £112,000, and it became a subsidiary. Also in June, new factories opened at the main site and in Dundee. 40% of products were exported and overseas subsidiaries had been established. Donal Morphy did not like the huge expansion of the company, but Richards thought it was too slow. Sir Patrick Bishop became chairman in 1957.

EMI

Morphy sold his share of the company to EMI (Electric and Musical Industries) in August 1960, and it then tried to take over the company, as did Philips Electrical Industries. Morphy supported the EMI offer, but Richards did not. However, EMI took over the company in September 1960. In the late 1950s, the company had developed the Silavent ventilation system,[4] manufactured for them by Robert McArd & Co.

In December 1960, the chairman, Sir Patrick Bishop, resigned, and Richards left the board. Morphy also left as managing director, but stayed on the board. Graham Hurst became managing director. By March 1961, Richards had joined GEC as joint managing director of its electrical appliance division. On 12 May 1961, a new £500,000 factory at Dundee built by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts was opened by the then Minister of Power, Richard Wood, Baron Holderness.

The Dundee site was managed by Willis Roxburgh until July 1966, and produced around a quarter of all fridges in the United Kingdom. By 1962, it was exporting to over 120 countries. In August 1962, the company appointed Faber Birren to give advice on colours of products. On 7 December 1962, Richards joined the board of directors of GEC.

In October 1963, it took over the record player division of EMI. On 15 November 1964, Charles Richards died aged 64 at his house in Buckinghamshire. In February 1965, there were discussions with English Electric to merge their large appliance divisions. In April 1965, Norman Tomlinson became managing director.

GEC

On 26 May 1966, EMI and AEI, owners of Hotpoint, decided to merge their domestic appliance divisions to form British Domestic Appliances (BDA) from 1 July 1966. Morphy Richards was employing about 4,000 people. The headquarters of BDA was at Peterborough, the site of the main Hotpoint factory.

In September 1967, GEC announced it wanted to take over AEI and, on 24 May 1968, GEC agreed to merge its domestic appliance division with BDA. EMI would own a third, and GEC two thirds. The managing director of BDA from September 1966, Laurence Peterken, was the new managing director, but he left two weeks later. The domestic appliance manufacture was moved to the Swinton Works at Mexborough and, in 1970, the original factory in St Mary Cray, which employed around 1,200 people, was closed.

The nearby Ruxley factory manufactured kettles and coffee percolators. In January 1970, it was decided to remove the Morphy Richards brand from refrigerators. It was argued that GEC had little interest in Morphy Richards. In the 1970s, BDA was the United Kingdom's largest manufacturer of domestic appliances. BDA changed its name to Hotpoint in 1975, with small domestic appliances marketed under the Morphy Richards brand. On 25 May 1975, Donal Morphy died, aged 74.

Morphy Richards "Touch-Me" clock radio circa 1984. This model was manufactured in Hong Kong.

In April 1982, the company sold Morphy Richards for £5 million to a holding company owned by The Throgmorton Trust, Capital for Industry.[5]

Glen Dimplex

On 10 May 1985, Morphy Richards was acquired by Glen Dimplex of Ireland. From the end of the 1980s, the company was once again very successful with advances in electronics making their way into domestic appliances. Morphy Richards was one of the few manufacturers to sell appliances with a factory-fitted BS 1363 plug before it became a legal requirement.

In June 2000, the Morphy Richards factory at Mexborough announced the dismissal of 120 staff, citing increasingly adverse trading circumstances for its domestically made products, due to their displacement in the market by cheaper imports made in East Asia.[6]

In 2002, Bajaj Electricals partnered with Morphy Richards to make, sell, market and distribute products under the brand name in the Indian market.[7]

In October 2003, the Morphy Richards factory at Bangor, in County Down, was closed, with 84 employees losing their jobs, due to manufacturing being transferred from the United Kingdom to East Asia.[8]

In 2007, Astral Equipment was merged with Morphy Richards and renamed Morphy Richards Astral, producing refrigerators.[9]

In June 2022, it was reported that Glen Dimplex had agreed to sell Morphy Richards to the Chinese company Guangdong Xinbao Electrical Appliance Holdings (Xinbao), known for its brand Donlim.

Xinbao, which manufactured Morphy Richards products in China for Glen Dimplex, bought the brand globally, but was initially taking full control of only the Chinese and British operations. Glen Dimplex retained the rights to distribute the brand under in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand for at least 10 years.[10]

See also

  • Russell Hobbs, formed in 1952 by two former Morphy & Richards employees.

References

  1. ^ Prince, Dominic (19 January 2011). "How easy is it to buy British?". Express.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Dry Iron". www.morphyrichardsindia.com. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Morphy-Richards - Graces Guide".
  4. ^ Silavent
  5. ^ "Morphy Richards". Museum of Power. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Mexborough Plant to shed jobs". Doncaster Free Press. 29 June 2000. Archived from the original on 31 December 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  7. ^ Sharma, Arti (4 October 2002). "Bajaj Electricals Set To Tie Up With Morphy Richards". Business Standard India.
  8. ^ "Jobs to go with factory closure". BBC News. 7 October 2003.
  9. ^ "City's changing economic fortune". BBC News. 11 January 2007.
  10. ^ "Glen Dimplex to sell off Morphy Richards brand to Chinese". 10 June 2022.

Read other articles:

The Cutter (song)

1983 single by Echo & the BunnymenThe CutterCover from the 7 releaseSingle by Echo & the Bunnymenfrom the album Porcupine B-sideWay Out and Up We Go / Zimbo (live)Released14 January 1983RecordedSeptember 1982Genre Rock[1] post-punk Length3:53LabelKorovaSongwriter(s)Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Les Pattinson, Pete de FreitasProducer(s)KingbirdEcho & the Bunnymen singles chronology The Back of Love (1982) The Cutter (1983) Never Stop (1983) Alternative coverCover from the ...

 

Centre galactique

Centre galactique, image infrarouge. Le centre galactique[1] est le centre de rotation du disque de la Voie lactée, galaxie comprenant la planète Terre. Il est situé à une distance de (8 178 ± 26) parsecs[2], soit (26 673 ± 83) années-lumière, du Soleil dans la région lumineuse la plus étendue de la Voie lactée, dans la direction de la constellation zodiacale du Sagittaire[3]. En raison de la présence de poussières sur la ligne de visée, ...

 

Синелобый амазон

Синелобый амазон Научная классификация Домен:ЭукариотыЦарство:ЖивотныеПодцарство:ЭуметазоиБез ранга:Двусторонне-симметричныеБез ранга:ВторичноротыеТип:ХордовыеПодтип:ПозвоночныеИнфратип:ЧелюстноротыеНадкласс:ЧетвероногиеКлада:АмниотыКлада:ЗавропсидыКласс:Пт�...

Apple A16

System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. Apple A16 BionicGeneral informationLaunchedSeptember 7, 2022Marketed byApple Inc.Designed byApple Inc.Common manufacturer(s)TSMCProduct codeAPL1W10[1]PerformanceMax. CPU clock rate2020 MHz to 3460 MHzCacheL2 cache16 MB (performance cores) 4 MB (efficient cores)Last level cache24 MBArchitecture and classificationApplicationMobileTechnology node4 nm N4PMicroarchitectureEverestSawtoothInstructionsARMv8.6-APhysica...

 

GURPS Shapeshifters

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: GURPS Shapeshifters – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) GURPS ShapeshiftersCoverDesignersRobert M. SchroeckPublishersSteve Jackson GamesPublication2003GenresFantasy, Horror, Science F...

 

John Harrison

John Harrison= John HarrisonLahir3 April [K.J.: 24 Maret] 1693Foulby, dekat Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, InggrisMeninggal24 Maret 1776(1776-03-24) (umur 82)London, InggrisTempat tinggalRed Lion SquareKebangsaanInggrisDikenal atasKronometer lautPenghargaanCopley Medal (1749)Karier ilmiahBidangHorologi John Harrison (3 April [K.J.: 24 Maret] 1693 – 24 Maret 1776) adalah seorang tukang kayu dan pembuat jam otodidak asal Inggris yang menciptakan kronometer laut, sebuah alat untuk ...

Marc Reagan

American Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center Marc ReaganMarc ReaganNationalityAmericanEducationBS, Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University; MS, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of ColoradoEmployerNASAKnown forAquanaut, NEEMO Mission DirectorTitleStation Training Lead Marcum Marc Reagan (born c. 1967)[1] is a Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.[2][3]&#...

 

國際調查記者同盟

此條目可参照英語維基百科相應條目来扩充。 (2021年10月13日)若您熟悉来源语言和主题，请协助参考外语维基百科扩充条目。请勿直接提交机械翻译，也不要翻译不可靠、低品质内容。依版权协议，译文需在编辑摘要注明来源，或于讨论页顶部标记{{Translated page}}标签。 国际调查记者同盟International Consortium of Investigative Journalists成立時間1997年總部华盛顿哥伦比亚特区 地址�...

 

美国众议院

此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2021年7月4日)请协助補充多方面可靠来源以改善这篇条目，无法查证的内容可能會因為异议提出而被移除。致使用者：请搜索一下条目的标题（来源搜索：美国众议院 — 网页、新闻、书籍、学术、图像），以检查网络上是否存在该主题的更多可靠来源（判定指引）。 美國眾議院 United States House of Representatives第118届美国国会众议院徽章 众议院旗...

Філософія

Частина серії проФілософіяLeft to right: Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Buddha, Confucius, AverroesПлатонКантНіцшеБуддаКонфуційАверроес Філософи Епістемологи Естетики Етики Логіки Метафізики Соціально-політичні філософи Традиції Аналітична Арістотелівська Африканська Близькосхідна іранська Буддій�...

 

Reserve currency

Currencies held by monetary authorities as part of their foreign exchange reserves A reserve currency is a foreign currency that is held in significant quantities by central banks or other monetary authorities as part of their foreign exchange reserves. The reserve currency can be used in international transactions, international investments and all aspects of the global economy. It is often considered a hard currency or safe-haven currency. The United Kingdom's pound sterling was the primary...

 

Correggio (pittore)

Antonio Allegri da Correggio Particolare della Cupola di San Giovanni a Parma Io e Zeus, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Monumento al Correggio di Agostino Ferrarini a Parma presso i Portici del Grano in piazza Garibaldi «Tengasi pur per certo che nessuno meglio di lui toccò colori, né con maggior vaghezza o con piú rilievo alcun artefice dipinse meglio di lui, tanta era la morbidezza delle carni ch’egli faceva, e la grazia con che e’ finiva i suoi lavori.» (Giorgio Vasari, Le vite ...

Pandemi Covid-19 di Filipina

Artikel ini mendokumentasikan suatu wabah penyakit terkini. Informasi mengenai hal itu dapat berubah dengan cepat jika informasi lebih lanjut tersedia; laporan berita dan sumber-sumber primer lainnya mungkin tidak bisa diandalkan. Pembaruan terakhir untuk artikel ini mungkin tidak mencerminkan informasi terkini mengenai wabah penyakit ini untuk semua bidang. Artikel utama: Pandemi COVID-19 Pandemi COVID-19 di Filipina 2020Wilayah region Filipina dengan kasus terkonfirmasi (merah) dan terduga ...

 

アルジェニクス

アルジェニクスargenx SE 種類 株式会社市場情報 Euronext: ARGX NASDAQ: ARGX本店所在地 オランダ4811Willemstraat 5, ブレダ設立 2008年 (16年前) (2008)業種 医薬品事業内容 医薬品研究・開発代表者 Tim van Hauwermeiren（CEO）外部リンク 公式ウェブサイトテンプレートを表示 アルジェニクス（argenx SE）は、自己免疫疾患および癌を対象とする抗体治療薬の開発を行う製薬企業。�...

 

Amparo Poch y Gascón

Amparo Poch y Gascón, nota anche con lo pseudonimo di doctora Salud Alegre (Saragozza, 15 ottobre 1902 – Tolosa, 1968), è stata un'anarchica, saggista e medico spagnola, figura eminente del Femminismo spagnolo fu tra le fondatrici del movimento anarco-femminista Mujeres Libres. Indice 1 Biografia 2 Note 3 Bibliografia 4 Altri progetti Biografia Amparo Poch y Gascon Proveniente da una famiglia della media borghesia, dopo gli studi magistrali si iscrisse alla facoltà di Medicina. Si mise r...

Acide phytique

« E391 » redirige ici. Pour les autres significations, voir E391 (homonymie). Acide phytique Acide phytique,phytate (forme anionique) Identification Nom UICPA (1R,2S,3r,4R,5S,6s)-cyclohexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexayl hexakis[dihydrogen (phosphate)] Synonymes Inositol hexaphosphate No CAS 83-86-3 No ECHA 100.001.369 No CE 201-506-6 Code ATC V09DB07 PubChem 890 No E E391 SMILES C1(C(C(C(C(C1OP(=O)(O)O)OP(=O)(O)O)OP(=O)(O)O)OP(=O)(O)O)OP(=O)(O)O)OP(=O)(O)O PubChem, vue 3D InChI InChI ...

 

District de Nawalparasi

Cet article est une ébauche concernant le Népal et l’administration territoriale. Vous pouvez partager vos connaissances en l’améliorant (comment ?) selon les recommandations des projets correspondants. District de Nawalparasi नवलपरासी जिल्ला District de NawalparasiAutres districts de la zone de LumbinîAutres zones de la région OuestAutres districts, zones et régions Administration Pays Népal Région Ouest Zone Lumbinî Type District Chef-lieu Para...

 

David Cournooh

Questa voce sull'argomento cestisti italiani è solo un abbozzo. Contribuisci a migliorarla secondo le convenzioni di Wikipedia. Segui i suggerimenti del progetto di riferimento. David CournoohCournooh con la Mens Sana Siena nel 2013.Nazionalità Italia Altezza187 cm Peso83 kg Pallacanestro RuoloPlaymaker / guardia Squadra Brescia CarrieraGiovanili ?-2005 PSG Villafranca2005-2009 Mens Sana Siena Squadre di club 2007-2014 Mens Sana Siena34 (152)2008-2009→  Virt...

Etiquette

Customary code of polite behaviour For other uses, see Etiquette (disambiguation). Good Manners redirects here. For the films, see Good Manners (2017 film) and Good Manners (2023 film). In Company Shocked at a Lady Getting up to Ring the Bell (1805) James Gillray caricatured A widow and her suitors, who seem to have forgotten their manners in the intensity of their admiration.[1] Etiquette (/ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occur...

 

Bookmatching

Matching two adjoining wood or stone surfaces Bookmatched maple violin back Bookmatching is the practice of matching two (or more) wood or stone surfaces, so that two adjoining surfaces mirror each other, giving the impression of an opened book.[1] As applied to wood, bookmatching is usually done with veneer (produced in one of several ways), but can also be done with solid wood. The technique is used to beautify a variety of objects such as furniture, violins, guitars[2] or t...