{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Use British English|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox company | name = Belliss & Morcom | logo = | caption = | type = [[Private company|Private]] | traded_as = | genre = <!-- Only used with media and publishing companies --> | fate = | predecessor = R. Bach and Co | successor = [[Amalgamated Power Engineering]] | founded = 1852 | founder = George Edward Belliss<br>Joseph J. Seekings<br>Alfred Morcom | defunct = <!-- {{End date|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | hq_location_city = [[Redditch]] | hq_location_country = [[England]] | num_locations = Redditch | area_served = Global | key_people = | industry = [[Engineering]] | products = [[Reciprocating engine]]<br>[[Reciprocating compressor]] | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = <!-- Only used with financial services companies --> | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = [[Gardner Denver]] | divisions = | subsidiaries = | website = {{URL|http://www.belliss.com/|Belliss.com}} | footnotes = | intl = }} [[File:Belliss and Morcom Works, Ladywood - geograph.org.uk - 703230.jpg|thumb|right|The former Ledsam Street Works of Belliss and Morcom works, located in [[Ladywood]], Birmingham in 1988]] [[File:Steam engine at Crich Tramway Museum - geograph.org.uk - 335291.jpg|thumb|right|Belliss and Morcom reciprocating engine and generator set, preserved at the [[Crich Tramway Museum]]]] '''Belliss and Morcom''' is a manufacturer and supplier of oil-free [[reciprocating compressor]]s, technologies and services.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Belliss & Morcom High Pressure Air Compressor Brand|url=https://www.acegroup.org.uk/belliss-morcom/|access-date=2021-07-14|website=The ACE Group|language=en-GB}}</ref> Founded in 1852 in [[Birmingham, West Midlands]], it is now a division of [[Ingersoll Rand]] based in [[Redditch]], [[Worcestershire]], [[England]]. [[File:High pressure compressor BellisMorcom.jpg|295px|thumb|right|High pressure reciprocating compressor from Belliss and Morcom, used in the bottling industry.]]
==History== Shortly after completing his articles of [[apprenticeship]], in 1862 George Edward Belliss acquired the engineering business of R. Bach and Co, then located at [[Broad Street, Birmingham|13-14 Broad Street, Islington, Birmingham]]. He then went into partnership with Joseph J. Seekings, forming the [[limited partnership]] '''Belliss and Seekings'''. The partnership came to the end in 1866, but Belliss continued the business as '''G. E. Belliss and Co.''' In 1875, the organisation moved to larger premises at Ledsam Street, the bombed-out and derelict former works of James Archdale and Co, [[Ladywood]].<ref name=Graces>{{cite web|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Belliss_and_Morcom|title=Belliss and Morcom|publisher=GracesGuide.co.uk|accessdate=2012-06-21}}</ref> Further expansions in 1899 and 1902 involved moving manufacturing from the Ledsam Street premises to nearby Icknield Square followed by expansion on land adjacent to Rotton Park Street.
In 1884, Belliss invited [[Royal Navy]] engineer Alfred Morcom to join the firm as a partner. Previously chief engineer at [[Sheerness]] [[dockyard]], he had gained a first-class certificate in steam engineering at the Navy's training college. Up to this point, Belliss and Morcom had specialised in producing [[Electrical generator|electrical generator sets]], consisting of a [[steam engine]] paired with a conjoined [[dynamo]], to create electricity for electrical power companies, councils, hospitals, industrial premises and water and sanitation works. With the addition of Morcom, it began selling into the marine market.<ref name=Graces/>
From 1885 onwards, the organisation received further orders from [[J. Samuel White]] of [[Cowes]], [[Isle of Wight]], for main power and generating machinery for Royal Navy [[torpedo boat]]s. The companies subsequently went into a limited production partnership, with Morcom also assisting White in Royal Navy trials of early versions of the [[torpedo net]].<ref name=Graces/> In 1887, the Royal Navy placed an order directly with Belliss and Morcom for a [[triple-expansion engine]]-based main power and generator set for all 13 of the [[Sharpshooter class torpedo gunboat|''Sharpshooter'' class torpedo gunboats]], designed by White.<ref name=Graces/>
In 1891, chief [[Drafter|draughtsman]] Albert Charles Pain used a valveless oil pump and pressure to create [[Lubrication|forced lubrication]]. It put a constant film of oil on the [[bearing (mechanical)|bearing]]s, reducing wear and increasing performance and reliability.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghamstories.co.uk/story_page.php?id=12&type=fo&page=4&now=0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013062951/http://www.birminghamstories.co.uk/story_page.php?id=12&type=fo&page=4&now=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-10-13|title=Reliable power to generate electricity|publisher=BirminghamStories.co.uk|accessdate=2012-06-21}}</ref> In 1891, the engine was shown in the [[Science Museum, London]].<ref name=Graces/>
In 1893, G.E. Belliss and Co incorporated as a [[private limited company]]. In 1899, after opening a new factory in Icknield Square, the company changed its name to '''Belliss and Morcom''', and issued further shares. Customers during this period included engines for the electricity supply plants for the cities of [[Bury St Edmunds]], [[Gloucester]] and [[Port Dundas]] for [[Glasgow Corporation Tramways]].<ref name=Graces/> The expansion required the building of another new factory at Rotten Park Street.<ref name=Graces/>
In 1907, the company built one experimental [[double-decker bus]] for the London General Omnibus Co. By the start of [[World War I]], the company was producing a standard range of {{convert|10|bhp}} to {{convert|3000|bhp}}, which could be deployed for lighting, electrical power and rotational power for [[mill (grinding)|mill]]s. The company was also producing: condensing plants; [[air compressor]]s; fan engines; pumping engines; [[Kerosene|paraffin]] engines.<ref name=Graces/>
Having produced [[internal combustion]] [[diesel engine]]s during the war, the company developed and launched its range in 1919, which continued in production until the mid-1930s.<ref name=Graces/> These were again deployed in power generation. In 1922, the company were commissioned to install six ex-[[Imperial German Navy]] [[submarine]] diesel generators into the corporation power station in London Road, [[Southend-on-Sea]].<ref name=Graces/>
===Merger=== The late-1960s changed the company a great deal. In 1966, the [[Receivership|receiver]] of [[Crossley Brothers]] sold the Crossley-Premier Engines and Furnival and Co businesses to Belliss and Morcom.<ref name=Graces/> In 1968, the company agreed on a merger with [[W. H. Allen, Sons & Company Ltd.|W.H. Allen, Sons and Co]]. The new [[Amalgamated Power Engineering]] was owned 60% by Allen's and 40% by B&M shareholders.
In 1981 Amalgamated Power Engineering was acquired by [[Northern Engineering Industries]] [[Public limited company|plc]], based in [[Gosforth]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].<ref name=Cranes>[http://www.nzrcranes.org/manufact.html NZR Cranes] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174719/http://www.nzrcranes.org/manufact.html |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref><ref name=Graces/> NEI itself was then acquired by [[Rolls-Royce plc]] in 1989.<ref name=Cranes/>
==Present== Belliss and Morcom was acquired from Rolls-Royce by [[Powell Duffryn]], and the company was merged with [[Hamworthy]]. This merger later resulted in the amalgamation of manufacturing in [[Gloucester]] and the final cessation of Belliss and Morcom as a Birmingham manufacturing company.<ref name=Acquire/>
In 2001, [[NYSE]]-listed [[Gardner Denver]] acquired the [[Hamworthy]] businesses, including Belliss and Morcom, from [[Powell Duffryn]]. Belliss and Morcom remained in Gloucester until around 2010 when the acquisition by [[Gardner Denver]] of CompAir Compressors led to a consolidation of the two businesses at the CompAir site in [[Redditch]].<ref name=Acquire>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gardner-denver-announces-agreement-to-acquire-hamworthy-belliss--morcom-71825817.html|title=Gardner Denver Announces Agreement to Acquire Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom|publisher=PRNewsWire.com|accessdate=2012-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220031023/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gardner-denver-announces-agreement-to-acquire-hamworthy-belliss--morcom-71825817.html|archive-date=20 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Today the company manufactures, supplies and services oil-free [[reciprocating compressor]]s, with a specialist division focusing on recycled [[Polyethylene terephthalate|PET plastic]] moulding.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Belliss & Morcom engines}} *[http://www.belliss.com/ Belliss and Morcom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626193323/http://www.belliss.com/ |date=26 June 2012 }} *[https://bellissmorcom.com/ Belliss & Morcom ] *[http://www.gardnerdenver.com/brands/belliss___morcom.aspx Belliss and Morcom @ Gardner Denver Group] *[http://www.oldladywood.co.uk/bellis.htm Notes and history of Belliss & Morcom @ Old Ladywood] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226091943/http://www.oldladywood.co.uk/bellis.htm |date=26 December 2012 }} *[https://bellissmorcom.com/ Belliss & Morcom ]
[[Category:Companies established in 1852]] [[Category:Engineering companies of England]] [[Category:Ladywood]] [[Category:Ingersoll Rand]] [[Category:Companies based in Redditch]] [[Category:1852 establishments in England]]