Fairfiel Enterprises was a leading

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-based machine distributor and supplier of tooling and support services to the printing and packaging industries. The company was taken over in 2000 by the Swiss company Bobst AG, a supplier of machinery and services to the packaging industry.

History

The business was founded in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1884 by the

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immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Oscar Friedheim (1858–1928), at first trading in the supply of

cardboard Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light b ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

. Five years later the company turned to the import and distribution of machinery, starting with a

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made card cutting and scoring machine for the production of

visiting card A visiting card, also known as a calling card, is a small card used for social purposes. Before the 18th century, visitors making social calls left handwritten notes at the home of friends who were not at home. By the 1760s, the upper classes in ...

s. From there on Oscar Friedheim focused on building up its connections with overseas machine manufacturers in the paper and packaging industry (e. g. Bobst, Faber & Schleicher,

Muller Martini Muller Martini, based in Switzerland, manufactures paper inserting systems, mail room delivery systems, and other printing-related equipment. Manufacturing facilities are located in Switzerland, Germany, and the United States. Switzerland starte ...

and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Winkler + Dünnebier Barry-Wehmiller Companies is a global supplier of manufacturing technology and services based in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2016 it was ranked no. 10 on the St. Louis Business Journal's list of the city's Top 150 Privately Held Companies. Although it ...

). In 1913 the company was incorporated as a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

with a nominal capital of £17,000. 1948 Oscar Friedheim Ltd. bought the engineers and sundries business of

John Haddon & Co Alfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS FRAI (24 May 1855 – 20 April 1940, Cambridge) was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist. Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W.H.R. Rivers, C.G. Seligman ...

, a London based printing and advertising company. In 1970 Fairfield Enterprises Ltd. was created as a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

of Oscar Friedheim Ltd. To extend its business into

spare part A spare part, spare, service part, repair part, or replacement part, is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for the repair or refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logistic ...

s Fairfield bought 50% of Lasercomb Dies Ltd. (

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

) in 1984 and purchased the remaining 50% in 1991. In August 1997 Fairfield was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

at 80 p per share to raise funds for acquisitions. In 1998 Fairfield bought Palatine Engraving (

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

) and Kennedy Grinding (

). In 1999 the headquarters of Fairfield Enterprises was moved from London to Redditch. In 2000 Bobst AG of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

acquired Fairfield Enterprises, paying 200p per Share. Fairfield's activities concerning the distribution of Bobst machinery in the UK and Ireland were renamed Bobst UK Holdings Ltd. The remaining parts of Fairfield, Friedheim International and Lasercomb Group (including Palatine Engraving), were sold to their management in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

References

External links

Homepage of Friedheim International

Homepage of Lasercomb Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfield Enterprises British companies established in 1884 Companies based in London Distribution companies of the United Kingdom Business services companies of the United Kingdom Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange 2000 mergers and acquisitions History of London Economy of the City of London

History

References

Further reading

External links