Bell Foundries

[dewline]

They're not a thing I think about very often, so finding out that the oldest-surviving such business may be shutting down was a bit of a surprise. The Globe and Mail's Paul Waldie interviews the current management of Whitechapel Bell Foundry on the matter of those plans, the firm's history and technologies, and where that industry might be headed.

Comments

[resonant.livejournal.com]

But precision custom castings is a growth industry! If they expanded their offerings to include aerospace, they'd be doing quite well.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

You might want to make the suggestion to them (http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/) directly, perhaps.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

I think the key factor is "none of the couple’s children want to take over the business." It's hot, messy, and requires great attention to detail, and they'd need to invest in some automated measurement equipment to avoid the hassle of measuring each feature by hand.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

The kids probably want to tear down the factory and sell the land to build condos, or whatever the equivalent is in London. Faster payoff than making landing gear dampening cylinders and so on.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Considering the need for affordable housing in any major city on the planet, condos seem ever more obscene by the year.

And yet...