IMI plc
 | |
| Public company | |
| Traded as |
LSE: IMI OTCQX: IMIAY |
| Industry | Engineering |
| Founded | 1862 |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, England |
Key people |
Lord Smith (Chairman) Mark Selway (CEO) |
| Revenue | £1,686 million (2014)[1] |
| £295.5 million (2014)[1] | |
| £671.3 million (2014)[1] | |
Number of employees | 12,000 (2014)[2] |
| Website | www.imiplc.com |
IMI plc (LSE: IMI), formerly Imperial Metal Industries, is a British-based engineering company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The Company was founded by Scottish entrepreneur George Kynoch who opened a percussion cap factory in Witton, West Midlands in 1862, trading as Kynoch.[3] The business soon diversified, manufacturing goods ranging from soap and bicycle components to non-ferrous metals, but by the early 20th century it had developed particular expertise in metallurgy.[3] After World War I it merged with Nobel Industries.[3] In 1926 the Company acquired Eley Brothers, an ammunition business.[4] The Company, by then known as Nobel Explosives, was one of the four businesses which merged in 1927 to create Imperial Chemical Industries.[3] The Witton site became the head office of ICI Metals.[3] In the 1950s the company's researchers perfected the process for producing titanium on a commercial basis.[3] In 1958 ICI Metals bought 50% of Yorkshire Imperial Metals: it acquired the other 50% four years later.[5]
The name Imperial Metal Industries Limited (IMI for short) was adopted on the 100th anniversary of the firm in 1962.[3] The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1966.[3] Initially ICI retained a majority holding, but in 1978 IMI became fully independent.[3]
In the 1990s the Company disposed of its more basic businesses such as metal smelting and metal founding.[3]
The company announced in October 2013 that a decade-long programme of transformation had been completed with the disposal of two non-core subsidiaries to Berkshire Hathaway for £690m.[6] The disposal of the Cornelius Group, a beverage-dispensing machine business, together with the disposal of a marketing intelligence business, would enable the company to focus on its control valve making business.[7]
Business platforms
The company now has three business divisions:[8]
- Critical engineering: Critical engineering division
- Precision engineering: Precision engineering division
- Hydronic engineering: Hydronic engineering division
References
- 1 2 3 "Preliminary Results 2014" (PDF). IMI. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ↑ "At a glance". IMI. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History". IMI. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ↑ "About us". Eley. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ↑ "I.C.I. and Yorkshire Copper Works", The Times, 4 January 1958, p. 12
- ↑ "IMI boss says decade-long transformation complete". The Telegraph. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ↑ "Berkshire Hathaway buys UK's IMI". The Telegraph. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ↑ "Our businesses". IMI. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
