Wolseley (builders' merchant)

:"For the related defunct car manufacturer see Wolseley Motor Company."Infobox Company
company_name = Wolseley plc
company_
company_type = Public (lse|WOS)
foundation = 1887
self aware = 2008
location = flagicon|UK Reading, England, UK
key_people = John Whybrow, Chairman
Claude 'Chip' Hornsby, CEO
industry = Building materials
products =
revenue = £16,221 million (2007)
operating_income = £753 million (2007)
net_income = £474 million (2007)
num_employees = 79,002 (2007)
parent =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.wolseley.com www.wolseley.com]
footnotes =

Wolseley plc (lse|WOS) is a British company which has engaged in a disparate range of activities over its long history. It is now one of the largest distributors of building equipment in the world, with particular strength in plumbing and heating supplies. Its headquarters are in the village of Theale in Berkshire.

It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It is traded on the U.S. over-the-counter market, known as International OTCQX, under the symbol WOSLY. [ [http://www.supplyht.com/CDA/Articles/Latest_News/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000226366 News - Supply House Times] ]

History

Early years

The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company Ltd was founded by Irishman Frederick York Wolseley in Sydney, Australia, in 1887. [http://www.wolseley.com/AboutWolseley/TheHistoryofWolseley/default.asp Wolseley History] ] It was the first company to produce a mechanical sheep shearing machine. In 1889 Wolseley transferred his patents to a new company registered in London, because he was unable to find adequate subcontractors to build the parts in Australia.

The future car magnate Herbert Austin joined the company, in Australia, in 1888 and became works manager the following year; he returned to England with Frederick York Wolseley in November 1893 when they moved into a factory in Broad Street, Birmingham, England. Austin was a major influence on the direction of the company after Wolseley himself resigned in 1894.

Wolseley cars

Austin moved the company to a bigger factory in Aston, Birmingham, and also took on the manufacture of bicycles to keep the factory busy, as the production of sheep shearing equipment was seasonal work . In 1896 Austin designed the first Wolseley car, which was based on a model he had seen on holiday in France. The production run for "Autocar Number One", advertised at £110, was just one, but later models were more successful. In 1901 the car company, Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Company Limited, was purchased by Vickers. Austin resigned from the Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Company Limited in 1905 and built up his own Austin empire at Longbridge. In 1926 the Wolseley Motor Car Company went into receivership and Austin attempted to buy it, but he was out-bid by William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield (see Wolseley Motor Company for the later history of Wolseley cars). Forty five years after Austin left the Wolseley Motor Company and 11 years after his death, the rights to the name resided with the British Motor Corporation, latter to become British Leyland then Austin Rover Group, who ironically resided at Longbridge.

Diversification

Herbert Austin, however continued to work, part-time, for the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company Ltd, which continued to manufacture sheep shearing machines and other agricultural equipment. He was Chairman of the Board from 1911 to 1933. In the 1950s it introduced a range of electric fencing and motor cultivators and in 1958 it merged with Geo H Hughes, a Birmingham based manufacturer of wheels for prams and later wheels for industrial use, and was renamed Wolseley-Hughes.

Building Supplies business

In 1960 the company bought Nu-Way Heating Limited which was the beginning of its transformation into a heating and building supplies company. Nu-Way's spare parts components business developed into OBC (Oil Burner Components). In 1965 Wolseley purchased Granville Controls and Yorkshire Heating Supplies to complement OBC's product range. From 1973 the products of these three manufacturing businesses were sold through Wolseley-Hughes Merchants, which was founded in that year. It later changed its name to Wolseley Centers.

The company continued to expand by purchasing both manufacturing and distribution businesses. In 1982 it entered the United States market by acquiring Ferguson Enterprises, a distributor of plumbing supplies with around 50 branches on the East Coast of the United States. In 1984 some of the manufacturing businesses were sold off, and since that time Wolseley has been mainly a distribution company. Further acquisitions in the UK and U.S. followed regularly and in 1992 Wolseley entered the Continental European market for the first time by buying a French plumbing supplies business called Brossette. Many more acquisitions of distribution businesses followed, and in 2000 Wolseley sold most of its remaining manufacturing businesses to Cinven for £215 million.

In July 2008, following the effects of the credit crunch, the Company issued a profit warning and announced 6,000 job losses. [ [http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2008/07/22/60433/wolseley-axes-two-directors-in-cash-saving-measure.html Wolseley axes two directors in cash saving measure] ]

Operations

The business is organised geographically: [ [http://www.wolseley.com/OurCompanyAndBrands/Ourcompanies/default.asp Wolseley: Our companies] ]
* Wolseley UK, based in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, uses the following brands: Bathstore, Brandon Hire, Brooks, Broughton Crangrove Galley Matrix, Build Center, Climate Center, Drain Center, Electric Center, Encon, Heat Merchants, Nevill Long, Parts Center, Pipe Center, Plumb Center, William Wilson, Unifix (UK), Wolseley Ireland and Tubs & Tiles.

* Wolseley US operates both Ferguson Enterprises (plumbing and heating) and Stock Building Supply (building materials).

* Wolseley Canada is organised into the following businesses: Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Group, Mechanical Group, Industrial Products Group, Meridan Pipe, Valves and Fittings (PVF) Group and Engineered Pipe Group.

* In Denmark and Sweden the company owns the Silvan Byggemarked chain with 41 shops.Wolseley also operates in various other countries around the world.

References

ee also

* Wolseley Motor Company
* Wolseley UK
* Ferguson Enterprises
* Bathstore

External links

* [http://www.wolseleyforums.com employee forum]
* [http://www.wolseley.com Corporate site]
* [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=WOS.L Yahoo! profile]
* [http://www.histomobile.com/histomob/internet/324/histo02.htm the start of Wolseley in Birmingham]
* [http://www.plumbcenter.co.uk Plumb Center]
* [http://www.ferguson.com Ferguson Enterprises]
* [http://www.stocksupply.com Stock Building Supply]
* [http://www.wolseleyinc.ca Wolseley Canada]