The Story of Pye 1896–2020 by Pye History Trust

cambridge is well known for being a high-tech centre with lots of innovative electronics companies in fact pai could be considered to be one of the founders of that industry prime was named after william george pai who founded the company in 1896. it started as a small scientific instrument company but it expanded into radio and all manner of electronics the first british transistor radio colour television was being demonstrated in 1949 and was actually used at the queen's coronation in 1953 so the world leader in a great many of these technologies so it was particularly important for us to create this exhibition to show people what pi did and it was very appropriate that it should be at this museum the museum already had a number of pie items in their collection this exhibition covers all aspects of pie with examples of the products and the history of the company this is the perfect location because we're on one side of the river and on the other side is where pi's main factory was so it's a very good place to be pie was one of the founding scientific companies in cambridge and for much of the 20th century cambridge's largest private sector employer recognising that its remarkable achievements were in danger of being forgotten a small group of ex-employees launched the pi history project this project had a number of aims as described here the pie company grew significantly over the years at its peak in 1966 it consisted of more than 60 uk companies and more than 20 overseas it had over 30 000 employees worldwide around half in east anglia and 7 000 in the cambridge area this map of cambridge has the major sites highlighted the main headquarters always remained in the san andrews road area the company founder william george pie was born on the 27th of october 1869. he was trained by his father in the instrument business and in 1892 he joined the cavendish labs as an instrument maker in 1896 he set up a part-time business later to become wg pi and company making scientific instruments the business began in the garden shed of the family home at 19 humberstone road cambridge shown today here in the foreground joined by his father he moved his workshop known as grantorworks several times in the coming years finally ending up at hague road now elizabeth way in 1913. at this time he had some 40 employees hague road and the adjoining st andrews road remained pi's main site for the next 80 years an example of the type of product the pie company produced at this time is the tangent galvanometer this is an early instrument for the measurement of electric current it works by using a compass needle to compare a magnetic field generated by the unknown current to the magnetic field of the earth in this advertisement from 1906 for his galvanometers we see that mahogany and brass were always major components but he was already producing cost-reduced variance using lower quality materials and a reduced specification he halved the price with the advent of world war one in 1914 pi helped the war effort by making military equipment such as artillery gun sights and the first elder signaling lamps examples of both this gun site and galvanometer are now in the pi collection at the cambridge museum of technology following the cessation of hostilities after 1918 the military equipment market disappeared short time working was introduced and the company searched for new product in 1922 prompted by w.g pai's son harold a graduate of cambridge university the management decided to try the new field of domestic wireless broadcast receivers pi's first wireless set designed to receive the experimental broadcast signals radiated by the bbc was based on their scientific instrument modules connected together gradually the pi wireless receivers proved successful resulting in a big expansion of the hague road factory this is the first set and also the pi factory around 1923. the 1920s saw the development of radio broadcasts and the early days of the british broadcasting company a newsreel of the time praised the speed in which pi built its first radio one week and observed that pi was producing 200 radios a week by 1924.

the product quickly improved resulted in these two landmark products from the mid-1920s these wireless sets were now largely self-contained gradually moving towards the more familiar integrated footprint here we see work inside the pie factory on hague road cambridge it's also possible to just see the new but distinctive front of the wooden casework a rising sun motif which would become an important pie image for its radios and as with many large factories the end of work rush for home in 1928 pi radio limited launched an important and iconic wireless the pi 25 set it was one of the first portable radio sets in the country and became a big seller its mahogany cabinet with the fretwork rising sun front became a recognized pi trademark inset we see the interior the large space below occupied by an accumulator and high voltage battery to power the set in 1923 an irishman charles orr stanley known as ceo started a company called arks publicity working for both the wg pi and mollard companies by 1926 he had recognized the potential of radio and started a business selling kits to make a radio receiver at home in 1928 phillips the dutch electronics company bought the business of captain stanley mullard who made vowels which were used by pie as a consequence co then took an interest in pie and suggested that philips buy the wg pi instrument and radio business wg pi refused an instrument maker at heart wgpi eventually asked co to broker a deal whereby phillips would buy the radio part of pie for 60 000 pounds ceo asked phillips for five thousand pounds commission for himself phillips balked at the idea of commission so ceo offered to buy the pie radio business himself from mr pie for sixty thousand pounds with a down payment of five thousand pounds at the time ceo didn't have five thousand pounds but he demonstrated the pie model 25 portable to his bank barclays suitably impressed they granted him a loan to buy the pie radio activity which he did later in 1928 ceo launched pi radio limited as a public company enabling him to pay wg pi out of the share proceeds while he acquired a personal controlling interest via his own shareholding consequently in 1928 wg pi's remaining interests in the instrument part of the company moved out of hague road and set up independently at 80 new market road where his son harold became director in 1929 the original factory now called pi radio works was expanded to 8 000 square meters and by 1933 pi was producing more than 40 000 radio sets per year here is the 1930 model the twin triple portable launched at london olympia that year during this period ceo's skill at identifying business opportunity led him to believe pie should make its own components with an eye to the valve business and the emerging possibility of television in 1935 he formed the cathodeian company in church street chesterton shown is an advertisement for one of cathodian's more complex products the monacon tube used for generating electronic images throughout this period there is an upsurge of interest in the new technology of television the bbc started experimental broadcasts in 1930 and a television service from alexandra palace in 1936 in 1935 pi radio produced their first tv sets and by 1936 marketed a nine inch set ready for the first broadcasts the following year pi also launched a 5-inch television costing 21 guineas within two years a total of 2 000 tv sets were sold at an average price of 34 pounds to reflect expansion beyond just radio the company was renamed pi limited but once again the war clouds were gathering at the outbreak of the second world war pi formed its own home guard unit to protect its own factories and the surrounding areas and inhabitants of cambridge they are seen here outside the pie factories in st andrews road cambridge pi needed an rf amplifier valve with excellent high frequency properties for their television development pi contacted philips research labs in the netherlands who were developing the ee50 valve pi proposed modifications to the design of this valve to improve its performance and it was renamed the ef50 in spring 1939 government scientists were researching airborne radar for the war effort they needed to find ways of considerably extending the range of these radar systems visiting cambridge they found that the tv receiver pi had developed was ideal for this purpose and promptly place orders for this pi strip as it became known the pi tv receiver using the new ef-50 valves became the key component of all world war ii vhf radar receivers for instance between 1939 and 1941 pi designed produced and installed 3 000 airborne interception radar receivers and indicator units in night fighters the entire pi tv section was turned over to the development of radar path newsreels of the era highlighted that pi's tv valve and chassis were the basis of all radar sets built by hundreds of companies during the second world war in radio communications pi's radio designs became the design template for radio sets built by the allies due to their high quality low cost of manufacture and ease of mass reproduction pi applied its enthusiasm expertise and leading edge technology in support of the war effort because of their experience in wireless technology they were able to throw large and skilled resources at the development of radar radio communications and navigation for the armed forces here is a unique example of pi technology in the war effort the proximity fuse of 1940 was designed to detect an enemy aircraft and detonate the charge close to that aircraft designed by pi it was actually manufactured in the usa when germany began bombing cities and industrial sites many firms were pressured by the government to relocate to safer places in wales and the west of england ceo refused reputedly growling we are pie of cambridge not pie of swansea instead pie diversified into towns and villages around east anglia such as saucedon kingsland mildenhall and swaffan known as the village industry scheme as many as fourteen thousand dispersed workers produced sub-assemblies and finished equipment in village halls and other buildings which were brought to cambridge for test and dispatch by the end of the second world war pi limited was in possession of a rich platform of technological knowledge from its wartime work had strong links to universities and government research departments and an experienced workforce of 14 000 people across east anglia in february 1944 pi telecommunications limited was created ready for the expected post-war boom in radio communications in recognition of the pie contribution to the war effort the company was awarded 200 000 pounds eight point seven million today plus twenty thousand pounds eight hundred and seventy thousand today for the design staff pai was positioned perfectly to benefit from the explosive technological growth worldwide that followed the war this growth was not just in radio and television but in all manner of new industrial businesses in 1948 they even set up coronet industries in hong kong to capitalize on low-cost manufacture this explosive growth required the establishment of new company facilities such as the 1948 opening of the lan factory in northern ireland manufacturing radios and televisions expansion during the 1950s and 1960s led to new factories and lowest for televisions pi telecoms and pi unicam in cambridge and many others throughout the uk here are some of these including the expansion of the original pi radio site near elizabeth way in cambridge by now the pi group had a structure as shown here the individual divisions helped to understand the breadth the company had developed now we take a closer look at some parts of this organization the consumer division was led by the radio and television products during the 1940s the pi b16 d16 and b18d18 were available in both console and tabletop variants designed around a receiving valve the ef50 developed just before the war and the advertisement for this product highlighting its many features and of course its price at 38 guineas plus purchase tax technically it was advanced particularly from a safety aspect because of the way in which the cathode ray tube was powered amazingly pi began color television development in 1946 demonstrating it at the 1949 rady olympia show in 1953 color tv was demonstrated during queen elizabeth ii's coronation relayed live to the great ormond street hospital and other selected venues the first bbc colored broadcasts in the uk would not begin until 1967. in 1953 the company diversified into music production with pie records and signed many well-known artists of the time such as lonnie donegan betula clark and the kinks they also launched a classical music label golden guinea in the early 1950s ceo stanley came back from a visit to the usa having heard about transistor development he gave the orders to the pi research labs to make transistors these were used in the first british transistor radio marketed under a subsidiary brand pam to guard against initial unreliability this proved to be an unnecessary concern and soon they were pi branded the transistors which were developed proved a success and resulted in pi setting up a company in new market called new market transistors meanwhile wg pi's original instrument business had been trading successfully from newmarket road and in 1946 pai acquired it once more three brothers the stubborns had also been manufacturing scientific instruments in a small company unicam instruments limited on arby road in cambridge the two companies were complementary providing a great deal of synergy in market served consequently pi also purchased unicam the following year in 1962 unicam instruments and wg pi relocated to form pi's scientific instrument center in a newly built factory at york street cambridge the two companies did not merge into a single company until 1968 becoming pi unicam limited by 1985 pi unicam employed nearly 1500 people and was the uk's largest manufacturer and supplier of laboratory analytical instruments the main product lines were spectrophotometers and chromatographs both of which were used by laboratories and industries for the quantitation of all manner of constituent materials after the war pi telecom grew to become the largest uk producer of mobile radio equipment for police fire ambulance and business as the world's biggest exporter of radio systems by the 1960s it was contributing over 30 of the pi group profits and by the 1980s it had become a 200 million pound company its strategy was developing from the war technology to peacetime personal communications a very good example of demonstrating the potential of technology devised during the wartime years was the concept of the mobile phone a concept familiar to all of us today but barely dreamt of in the latter part of the 1940s here we see one of pai's key engineers dennis fuller experimenting with adaptations of the pie walkie-talkie this potentially could allow people to talk with one another for all manner of purposes in an instant apathe newsreel from 1946 demonstrated how quickly pi was able to apply its military wireless technology from world war ii to civilian use illustrating just how early pi products were in the development of mobile communications based at ditton works newmarket road the cambridge works in elizabeth way and a third factory in haverhill pie telecom grew very quickly expansion into production in scotland suffolk australia new zealand and india assisted this growth with a network of 23 service depots around the uk nearly 3 000 were employed at its peak in 1977 the company moved to a new purpose-built factory onst andrews road pi tvt was set up in 1947 to support sales of tv receivers by producing tv transmitters and broadcast studio equipment this included its popular tv cameras by 1960 pi dvt limited was established as an independent company in 1948 pi invented the mobile tv outside broadcast vehicle a significant part of the tvt business was the supply of these ob vehicles worldwide the concept of driving up to a sports event or a theatre and producing a program without having to have a fixed installation was very attractive to television companies during the period 1945 to around 1960 pi created and bought a range of smaller companies known internally as the pi b companies summit swaffam mildenhall and linton grew out of the wartime pie village industries there were in excess of 50 such companies typically employing 50 to 350 staff they supplied components to the bigger pie companies but also sold their products to third parties in 1960 a significant event took place in the history of pi when it merged with echo to form british electronic industries based in south end with around five thousand employees and roughly one third the size of pi ekko had followed a very similar growth pattern to pi after world war ii within a year the merger had become a pie takeover further large acquisitions followed in 1960 pi brought telephone manufacturing company tmc in kent after the echo merger in 1960 pi employment numbers reached their highest point and it's fair to say the peak of its industrial importance with over 30 000 employees worldwide it became the biggest private employer in the cambridge area with 16 000 people employed in east anglia alone it's informative here to take a brief look at charles orr stanley he was to lead the company for almost 40 years he was born in ireland in 1899 and came to england in 1917 joining his elder brother and sister in london he founded ark publicity in 1923 at the age of 24 and as we have heard bought the pie radio company in 1928 over his many years leading the pi group ceo transformed a small specialist radio manufacturer into the uk's biggest electronics company with a global presence his personal and business qualities were many his vision and entrepreneurial flair made him an inspiring leader but also a great wheeler dealer he had the knack of recruiting and motivating some extraordinarily creative but at times difficult people if you take the pie business it consists of a substantial number of people from all levels that are essential to the success of the business from the directors to the people on the factory floor there is a hard core of people in this business that are absolutely essential to its success he was a free enterprise activist and during the 1950s and 1960s he became a very effective political lobbyist and a thorn in the flesh of the establishment amongst many campaigns he agitated for commercial television as a director of atv and by 1965 was involved in 109 companies and i still look back on him as one of the most captivating personalities i have ever met um i think if he told me to go out and walk on the water i would have had a go at it he was one of those people and uh he was the most marvelous speech maker as well in any collection of people he inspired people inspired people by 1966 despite ceo's leadership qualities there are a number of looming problems for the pie company some are shown here for instance by 1962 it was reckoned that four out of five tv sales were to rentals companies pi didn't really get into this market until 1962 using a very questionable partner the gibbard group burgeoning echo tv stocks and declining product quality all contributed to these issues given the faltering position of the pie company many were asking was ceo stanley starting to lose his grip seo was an autocrat and pie was becoming too big for one man to run it added to which his son john now deputy md lacked ceo's skills and abilities underpinned by very weak financial management the limited investment in the professional equipment divisions despite their potential was a clear strategic blind spot so the inevitable was about to happen by 1966 cooper brothers reported on the company financial situation confirming pi lacked adequate financial controls and was facing serious losses due to high stocks over generous credit terms to distributors and questionable dealings with the gibbard group a cabal of directors staged a coup forcing ceo stanley to resign as chairman in may of 1966 followed by the dismissal of john stanley as deputy chairman the following november following the palace revolution and the company's financial revelations the inevitable process of takeover occurred with long-time collaborator philips of the netherlands winning the battle that leaves one major question how did pi with 30 000 plus employees 60 plus uk companies and 20 plus overseas companies disappear from the uk industrial scene over the next 30 years as with many business takeovers three main stages occurred initially independence of the pie companies followed by integration of businesses useful to other philips business and finally divestment of pi businesses which no longer fitted the overall parent company strategy these phases happened at varying times for different pi companies unable to initially acquire all the pie shares because of government restriction philips allowed most pie companies to operate semi-independently many still under the pi branding this phase lasted for 10 to 20 years according to the individual company phillips was renowned for its strong financial controls acquiring all the remaining pie shares by 1978 but didn't fully complete the absorption of the pi group until 1986. the integration process into true philips companies occurred at different rates dependent on the synergy of pi companies to other parts of philips some integration was cautious and went through extended cross-branding for others it was more sudden this often depended on the philips presence in each of these markets the business reorganization was heavily focused on financial accountabilities and working practices examples of the transition through initial integration followed by final divestment were quite common here are two examples from the consumer products and telecom businesses here are two more examples this time where the companies involved were firmly divested to other investors especially whether products were a poor fit with the future philips strategy many of the smaller b companies were bundled together and floated as a complete package cambridge electronic industries pi unicam was a slightly different example philips already had an analytical division but had failed to gain significant market share although unicam fitted this portfolio it had more value with investors already established in this marketplace now looking back over the years as the pi business flourished and expanded many sites were developed especially in cambridge but also throughout the uk and indeed around the world as the pi business was integrated and divested by philips so the valuable sites were remediated and sold mainly for housing here are some examples finally we should take a brief look at the pi organization and the family of people it became over the years its commitment as an employer was viewed favorably by the majority of people who worked there it provided an excellent working environment especially for women alternative employment in east anglia was difficult to find the relationships developed at work extended easily into all manner of sports and social activities and clubs a typical christmas time scene on the assembly line at pies cambridge works during the 1950s the largely female staff chosen particularly for their dexterity enjoyed the very sociable work atmosphere throughout the year the pie management from ceo stanley down firmly believed in the training and education of their workforce here are some of the major initiatives throughout the growth years of the company apprenticeships were key initiatives in the training program as indeed were the management training courses for more senior staff for the opening of pi telecom's new building in st andrews road in 1978 marquis had been erected outside to accommodate the visiting press and customer representatives housing a vast array of technical communication products all was ready for the big opening ceremony a few days prior to the big day the river cam broke over its banks and flooded the company playing fields and of course the marquee area as shown it is a tribute to the staff that worked every hour in order to dry out the equipment displays and catering to allow the grand opening to go ahead on time in order to bring the large workforce into cambridge from the many surrounding villages pai ran a fleet of buses each day by 1970 some 25 buses brought in over 1200 employees the buses became almost a part of the social life of the employees sharing significant lengths of commuting time with the same people each day for many years a much anticipated event was the pie works outings usually to some coastal resort it's reported that on returning many suffered from over-indulgence and in fact a few never managed to return in the planned manner an extremely wide range of both sporting and social clubs were enjoyed by many of the pie workers and staff some examples from across the years are shown here the sports clubs were so important that a huge area of the saint andrews road site was devoted to various playing fields and pitches a dedicated building housing changing rooms and a full social club was built in 1978 on land adjacent to these pitches and next to the new pi telecoms factory we had um a girls netball team we were able to use the tennis courts they used to have a sports day every every summer telecom also had we used to have a christmas party every year and we just have some good fun at that yes and um and we also had a trip to the seaside once a year which was paid by the company we used to go by train so one year we went to brighton we went to clapton south end and various places you know around seaside places roundabouts there was a really good atmosphere in those days the highlight of the social year was always the summer sports day in gala held on the company's playing fields at st andrews road pie lives on in the form of a trust that supports local charities and also provides support and social gatherings for ex-employees in preserving the history and artifacts of the company the pi history trust has now set up a display of these materials in a dedicated building at the cambridge museum of technology in addition websites pulling the whole story together have been created in order to share all this information to a wider audience thank you for spending the time to view this presentation you

2022-01-09 23:53

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