The Puddling process
Hingley Side Welders
N. Hingley & Sons test house
Other vessels with Hingley products
Other vessels with Hingley products
Hingley cables on TSS Olympic
N. Hingley & Sons Exhibition Stand
Blacksmith's Chart
The success of N. Hingley & Sons Ltd depended on the quality of the products it produced. Hingley’s prided themselves on their quality standards, and their sales literature made much of this.
Hingley’s were firmly committed to the use of wrought iron for ships’ cables and anchors. The key to high quality wrought iron was the process of rolling. To produce Hingley’s Netherton Crown Special Best Best iron, it was reheated and re-rolled up to three times. This process gave the wrought iron a ductability, or the ability to withstand shock loads, that was second to none in the world.
Also, Hingley’s only used picked men, those whose work was of the very best, and they were paid higher wages than the rest of the industry. The level of supervision in the factory exceeded that found elsewhere, so quality levels could be maintained.
Hingley’s were one of the first businesses to practice vertical integration, a practice more commonly associated with firms in the U.S., whereby the entire production process was owned and controlled. So the iron ore, the iron, the fuel, small, medium and large chain, anchors and testing were all done by Hingley’s.
By using their own mines, puddling furnaces, manufacturing and testing facilities, Hingley’s were able to achieve two things. Firstly, whereas other chainmakers had to buy in their iron, fuel, testing etc., Hingley’s owned and controlled the entire process so they were not subject to market vagaries. Secondly, owning and running the entire process brought about other business opportunities, such as supplying other manufacturers with their raw or processed material requirements, like pig iron. So, whereas Hingley’s competitors could only offer chains and anchors, Hingley’s could sell coal, coke, limestone for flux, pig iron, various grades of wrought iron, finished chain in all sizes, chain testing and anchors. Even the design of their anchors was under Hingley’s control, as they had an exclusive arrangement with the Halls Patent Anchor Company for the use of their designs, a company they subsequently purchased.
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| Reference: | 684 |
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| Updated: | Tue 5 Jun 2007 - 14 |
| Interpretation written by | Louis Howe |
| Author's organisation | Curatorial |
| Organisation's website |