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Wolseley (builders' merchant)
Encyclopedia
Wolseley plc is a global building materials supplier company headquartered near Reading
, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest heating and plumbing distributor to the professional market and has approximately 47,000 employees in 25 countries. Its brands include Brossette, Build Center, Ferguson
, Pipe Center, Plumb Center and Wolseley.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
.
in Sydney, Australia, in 1887. 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.
, 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
.
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.
On the 25 July 2011 Managing Director of Wolseley UK Paul Turner address a letter to all registered customers announcing the sale of Build Center to Jewson Ltd. The letter also described how Jewson Ltd already opperates from over 950 locations throughout the UK and Ireland.
Wolseley operates in total of 25 countries around the world, including:
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest heating and plumbing distributor to the professional market and has approximately 47,000 employees in 25 countries. Its brands include Brossette, Build Center, Ferguson
Ferguson Enterprises
Ferguson Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, is largest plumbing wholesaler in North America and a major distributor of HVAC/R equipment, waterworks and fire protection products, and industrial pipes, valves and fittings.-History:...
, Pipe Center, Plumb Center and Wolseley.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
Early years
The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company Ltd was founded by Irishman Frederick York WolseleyFrederick Wolseley
Frederick York Wolseley was the founder of Wolseley, one of the United Kingdom's largest builders' merchant businesses.-Career:...
in Sydney, Australia, in 1887. It was the first company to produce a mechanical sheep shearing
Sheep shearing
Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year...
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
Herbert Austin
Herbert 'Pa' Austin, 1st Baron Austin KBE was an English automobile designer and builder who founded the Austin Motor Company.-Background and early life:...
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
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England.
Wolseley cars
Austin moved the company to a bigger factory in AstonAston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, 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
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
. Austin resigned from the Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Company Limited in 1905 and built up his own Austin
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
empire at Longbridge
Longbridge
Longbridge is an area of Birmingham, England. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield.Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant, which produced Austin, Nash Metropolitan, Morris, British Leyland, and most recently MG Rover cars...
.
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 BurnerOil burner
An oil burner is a heating device which burns fuel oil. The oil is atomized in to a fine spray usually by forcing it under pressure through a nozzle...
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
Ferguson Enterprises
Ferguson Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, is largest plumbing wholesaler in North America and a major distributor of HVAC/R equipment, waterworks and fire protection products, and industrial pipes, valves and fittings.-History:...
, 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
Cinven
Cinven is a British private equity firm founded in 1977 with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Hong Kong. Currently, the company has raised four funds, with the last one signing up €6.5 billion...
for £215 million.
In July 2008, following the effects of the credit crunch
Credit crunch
A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates...
, the company issued a profit warning and announced 6,000 job losses.
On the 25 July 2011 Managing Director of Wolseley UK Paul Turner address a letter to all registered customers announcing the sale of Build Center to Jewson Ltd. The letter also described how Jewson Ltd already opperates from over 950 locations throughout the UK and Ireland.
Operations
The business is organised geographically:- Wolseley UK, based in Leamington SpaLeamington SpaRoyal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
in WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, uses the following brands: Bathstore, Brooks, Broughton Crangrove, Galley Matrix, Climate Center, Drain Center, Heat Merchants, Nevill Long, Parts Center, Pipe Center, Plumb Center, William Wilson, Unifix (UK), Wolseley Ireland and Tubs & Tiles.
- Wolseley US operates Ferguson EnterprisesFerguson EnterprisesFerguson Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, is largest plumbing wholesaler in North America and a major distributor of HVAC/R equipment, waterworks and fire protection products, and industrial pipes, valves and fittings.-History:...
(plumbing and heating).
- 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.
- DT Group, based in DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, operates in Northern and Central Europe with the following brands: SilvanSilvan ByggemarkedSilvan is a Danish retail DIY store with headquarters in Århus, Denmark. The company is a part of DT Group owned by the global building materials supplier company Wolseley plc....
, Stark, Starkki, Beijer Byggmaterial, Neumann, Woodcote and Cheapy.
Wolseley operates in total of 25 countries around the world, including:
- UK
- France
- Canada
- The Netherlands
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Czech Republic
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Finland
- Norway
- Poland
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Mexico
- Barbados
- USA
Key people
Key people are:- John W Whybrow – Chairman
- Ian Meakins – Chief Executive Officer
- Frank W Roach – Chief Executive, North America
- Robert H Marchbank – Chief Executive, Europe
- John W Martin – Chief Financial Officer
- Gareth Davis – Non Executive Director
- Andrew J Duff – Non Executive Director
- James I K Murray – Non Executive Director
- Nigel M Stein – Non Executive Director
See also
- Wolseley Motor CompanyWolseley Motor CompanyThe Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
- Wolseley UKWolseley UKWolseley UK is the holding company for several well-known United Kingdom builders merchants, including Bathstore, Plumb Center. Wolseley UK is the country's largest supplier of building materials, with trade customers accounting for the largest proportion of its sales...
- Ferguson EnterprisesFerguson EnterprisesFerguson Enterprises Inc., headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, is largest plumbing wholesaler in North America and a major distributor of HVAC/R equipment, waterworks and fire protection products, and industrial pipes, valves and fittings.-History:...
- BathstoreBathstoreBathstore.com Ltd., trading as Bathstore is a specialist bathroom retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena...
- Build.comBuild.comBuild.com is an online home improvement company based in Chico, California.- History :In September 2000, Christian Friedland and David Boctor were working on their Computer Science master’s project at California State University, Chico...