Norton in Smallbrook Ringway
  

Birmingham was not only known as the workshop of the world but the world's first industrial town It was said of Birmingham that you could find anything being made, from an anchor to a pin! Sadly, progress has meant that a large proportion of the West Midland's industry has been swept away by foreign competition or change in demand. Some trades, such as motorcycle manufacture and pen making, are just a distant memory and just after this web site started, in March 2005, the countries only volume car manufacture, MG Rover, closed and has since been bought by the Chinese. Who would ever have thought that the birthplace of the Mini would one day be owned by a Chinese car company!

But it's not all bad news, other industries, such as jewellery making, continue to thrive, in fact Birmingham is a city of surprises as you will find out from this web site. Did you know, for instance, that Brylcreem was first invented and made in Birmingham or that at one time Birmingham was the brass bed manufacturing centre of the world?  Did you know that the first four wheel petrol engined car was made in Birmingham or that Birmingham's contribution to the war effort was unsurpassed by any other city? Over half of all the armament used in World War 2 were made by one company, the mighty BSA and the Castle Bromwich factory of Morris Motors and Vickers built more Spitfires than all of the other UK factories combined!

The aim of the site is to publish  brief histories of each company featured  but we need contributions from people who either worked or were connected with a particular industry or company. YOUR CONTRIBUTION is very important. If you have memories, no matter how short, please contact us. You or one of your relatives may have been a factory, office or service worker in a major Birmingham industry or in a small privately owned concern, whatever, your story is of interest, even if it is just a few lines. If you have pictures we will publish those too. If you are trying to trace a company or want help with it's history or just want to trace former workers, please contact us.

Please be aware this is a non profit making community site run on a part time basis. 

The Company Index has links to the pages on the site.

We thank CAROLE NASH MOTOR INSURANCE for their continued support and sponsorship of the web site and motorcycle runs.