Fairfield Enterprises

Fairfiel Enterprises was a leading British-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.

Fairfield Enterprises
IndustryDistributor
Founded1884 (1884)
HeadquartersRedditch, England, UK
Key people
James Ramsey Venn
(Chairman) (1999)
Geoffrey Crossland Darricotte
(Chief Executive) (1999)
Revenue£ 57.8 million (1999)
£ 2.9 million (1999)
Number of employees
353 (1999)
Former company logo of Oscar Friedheim Ltd.
German made card cutting and scoring machine for the production of visiting cards imported by Oscar Friedheim

History

The business was founded in London[1] in 1884 by the Jewish-German immigrant Oscar Friedheim (1858–1928),[2] at first trading in the supply of cardboard and paper. Five years later the company turned to the import and distribution of machinery,[3] starting with a German[4] made card cutting and scoring machine for the production of visiting cards.[5] 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 and after the Second World War Winkler + Dünnebier).

In 1913 the company was incorporated as a limited company with a nominal capital of £17,000.[6] During The Blitz its head office in Water Lane was hit hard twice. Most of the machinery and the company records got destroyed. Therefor a new provisional office had to be set up at Mill Hill.[7] 1948 Oscar Friedheim Ltd. bought the engineers and sundries business of John Haddon & Co, a London based printing and advertising company.[8]

In 1970 Fairfield Enterprises Ltd. was created as a holding company of Oscar Friedheim Ltd. To extend its business into spare parts Fairfield bought 50% of Lasercomb Dies Ltd. (Redditch) in 1984 and purchased the remaining 50% in 1991.[9]

In August 1997 Fairfield was listed on the London Stock Exchange at 80p per share[9] to raise funds for acquisitions.[10] In 1998 Fairfield bought Palatine Engraving (Leeds)[11] and Kennedy Grinding (London).[12] In 1999 the headquarters of Fairfield Enterprises was moved from London to Redditch.[13]

In 2000 Bobst AG of Switzerland acquired Fairfield Enterprises,[14] paying 200p per Share.[15] 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[16] and Lasercomb Group (including Palatine Engraving),[17] were sold to their management in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

References
  1. The first office was in 7 Waterlane, Blackfriars.
  2. Oscar Friedheim was born 1858 in Tilsit (then in the German Empire), migrated to London in 1882 and died on 17 May 1928 at a sanatorium outside Berlin.
  3. Roy Brewer: Friedheim - A Century of Service - 1884–1984, Oscar Friedheim Ltd, London 1984, pp. 3
  4. Designed and manufactured by Louis Peltner of Berlin, the machine was imported into the United Kingdom by Oscar Friedheim Ltd. and sold under its own name. Among other things, it was capable of producing up to 100,000 visiting and business cards a day and could be operated by steam or treadle.
  5. Joseph William Zaehnsdorf: ″The Art of Bookbinding″, George Bell and Sons, London 1890
  6. Roy Brewer: Friedheim - A Century of Service - 1884–1984, Oscar Friedheim Ltd, London 1984, p. 15
  7. Roy Brewer: Friedheim - A Century of Service - 1884–1984, Oscar Friedheim Ltd, London 1984, pp. 26
  8. Roy Brewer: Friedheim - A Century of Service - 1884–1984, Oscar Friedheim Ltd, London 1984, p. 29
  9. "Fairfield Enterprises Plc - Introduction to the Official List, 19 August 1997". Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  10. Amanda Hall: ″Fairfield inks in flotation date″, Sunday Telegraph 20.07.1997
  11. "Set fair for Fairfield", The Daily Telegraph,3 October 1998
  12. Fairfield Enterprises Plc Financial Report 1998, p. 11
  13. Fairfield Enterprises Plc Financial Report 1999, pp. 1
  14. "Milestones | BOBST". www.bobst.com. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  15. "Fairfield bows to bobst", 31 January 2000 on www.citywire.com
  16. Friedheim - Timeline
  17. "About". 27 September 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

Further reading
  • Roy Brewer: Friedheim - A Century of Service - 1884–1984, Oscar Friedheim Ltd, London 1984.
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