LucasVarity plc was a UK automotive parts

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

, created by a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

of the British

Lucas Industries Lucas Industries plc was a Birmingham-based British manufacturer of motor industry and aerospace industry components. Once prominent, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formerly a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In August 199 ...

plc, and the North American

Varity Varity was a Canadian multinational manufacturing company, created in 1986 from the remains of Massey Ferguson Limited (MF) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Varity also owned Perkins Engines, headquartered in Peterborough, England, and Kelsey-Haye ...

Corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

in August 1996.

History

LucasVarity traces its history back to the historic Canadian farm equipment maker

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...

(1891 as Massey Harris, 1847 as Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory, 1870s as A. Harris Sons Co., 1920s as British based

Ferguson-Brown Company The Ferguson-Brown Company was a British agricultural machinery manufacturing company formed by Harry Ferguson in partnership with David Brown. Ferguson-Brown produced the Model A Ferguson-Brown tractor incorporating a Ferguson-designed hydr ...

) and 1860 as British metal parts manufacturer

Foundation

The company was formed in August 1996, by the merger between

plc and the North American

Corporation. Lucas employed 46,000 people compared with Varity's 9,000.UK to bear brunt of Lucas cuts
/ref> At the time of the merger, LucasVarity announced plans for a £65 million pound savings programme. The areas streamlined included the treasury, communications and marketing departments, as well as divisional managers. "The merger created a unique opportunity to reassess the skills and competencies we require in the senior management team", said LucasVarity

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Victor A. Rice.

Attempted relocation to the United States

In 1998, the management attempted to shift the company's head office and primary listing to the United States. The company suffered an embarrassing defeat in a

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

vote, amid claims that its directors were looking to cash in on the much higher pay packets available in the United States. Victor Rice suffered a barrage of criticism from shareholders and the British media.

Sale to TRW

Following this defeat, an offer was made by TRW, an American company specializing in

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

s, defence and automotive parts, to purchase the company in an all-cash offer, which was accepted in March 1999.

Subsequent history

TRW quickly sold Lucas Diesel Systems to

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

, which was then a USA based automotive parts and systems manufacturer with a large presence in Europe, during January 2000. The diesel fuel injection equipment research, engineering and manufacturing business of Lucas, known in later years as Lucas Diesel Systems Ltd (and previously CAV Ltd) continues at all of its original worldwide sites (with the exception of those in Japan and South Carolina, USA which had closed by this time). The business name has been changed to Delphi and the business is a major part of its Powertrain Division. Lucas Aerospace (by then called TRW Aeronautical Systems) was sold to

Goodrich Corporation The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Goodrich, the company name was ch ...

, which itself is now part of

UTC Aerospace Systems UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) was one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The company was formed in August 2012 when parent United Technologies Corporation ...

. TRW itself was later acquired by

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

, who sold the automotive assets of Lucas, Varity and TRW's own automotive group to the

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...

TRW Automotive TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was an American global supplier of automotive systems, modules, and components to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and related aftermarkets. Tracing its roots from TRW Inc. it was originally head ...

.Northrop Grumman agrees to buy TRW for $7.8bn in stock
/ref> In September 2004 Elta Lighting Ltd., a UK-based automotive electrical components supplier, acquired a license from TRW Automotive to use the Lucas name and logo on products in the UK and Europe. This saw the familiar green and white 'Lucas' logo return to the UK after several years absence. Now trading under the name of 'Lucas Electrical' the company concentrates on after-market component supply rather than as an original equipment supplier to manufacturers. Initially the Lucas name was used on Elta's existing product of automotive

light bulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

s but has been gradually expanded to cover much the same range as the original Lucas company- light units, batteries, switches and controls, ignition components, remanufactured starter motors and alternators, wiper blades and electrical accessories. Operations and manufacturing take place at several locations in the UK as well as overseas.

Operations

At formation LucasVarity was managed in seven divisions. The current ownership of these divisions is detailed below.

References

{{Authority control Auto parts suppliers of the United Kingdom Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom TRW Inc. British companies established in 1996 British companies disestablished in 1999 Manufacturing companies established in 1996 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1999