Hoffmann Manufacturing Company (EHER 40668)

Late 19th century engineering company pioneering the manufacture of ball bearings. The factory was eventually bought by the Ministry of Munitions in March 1918 for £1.5m. This was necessary because the firm was unwilling to extend the factory or to offer their exceptional technical abilities to other factories in light of post-war commercial competition. A high standard of efficiency was maintained throughout the course of the war; the factory producing as many as 230,000 ball bearings a month by October 1918. This formed an important part of the war effort in that it provided an essential component of both factory and military equipment.

Geoffrey and Charles Arthur Barrett were initially involved in two companies, the Westminster Manufacturing Co. which manufactured sash pulleys and castors and the Preston Davies Ball Bearing Co. Subsequently they formed an unsuccessful ball bearing manufacturing business in Chelmsford (by 1896) Their problem was producing truly circular balls without a 'snag' or 'crater' left behind after the ball was detached from the steel rod it was made from. However a Swiss-American inventor Ernst Gustav Hoffmann had patented a method which addressed this problem and the Barretts persuaded Hoffmann to work with them in Chelmsford. In 1898 a new factory and company named the Hoffmann Manufacturing Company was established on an extensive site in New Street. The original factory comprised a number of production buildings (many of which have since been demolished) and two large five-storey factories. By 1903 Hoffmann rather acrimoniously dissolved relations with the Barretts but the company in his name continued to grow (based on the demand from railway, motor vehicle and aircraft industries), by 1908 production had risen to 1 million ball bearings a day and by 1919 up to 1800 men were employed in the Chelmsford works. This rose to around 8000 in the 1960s. As part of a government reorganisation scheme in 1969, Hoffmanns merged to become Ransome, Hoffmann and Pollard (RHP) <1> Adopting a cranked L shaped plan the remaining factory buildings where built over 5 storeys, the upper due to a distinct change in architectural style, may have been added after the original build of 1898. Pier and panel construction in yellow brick with red brick pilasters and segmental window heads. Gabled slate roofs. The western 2 bays fronting New Street are the most ornate with decorative mullioned sash windows (where paired), ornate porched door and a large triangular pediment with a central occulas window turned in stone. The remaining windows throughout the factory are planer casements with fine metal glazing bars and a central pivoting hopper. Building no longer in industrial use but is in use by a number of small businesses <2> Information from NRHE A First World War National Ball Bearing Factory was established at the works of the Hoffman Manufacturing Company, Chelmsford, in September 1917. The factory was eventually bought by the Ministry of Munitions in March 1918 for £1.5m. This was necessary because the firm was unwilling to extend the factory or to offer their exceptional technical abilities to other factories in light of post-war commercial competition. A high standard of efficiency was maintained throughout the course of the war; the factory producing as many as 230,000 ball bearings a month by October 1918. This formed an important part of the war effort in that it provided an essential component of both factory and military equipment. <3> The 1921 OS map (1:2500) indicates that this factory was originally a huge complex comprising many buildings situated just to the north of Marconi Works. However the only building that remains extant is a long range that now comprises Globe House, Durrant Court and Ashby House of Anglia Ruskin University. <4> <5> <6>