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Burman Gearboxes

B

Bald Reynard

Guest
My Uncle worked at Burman Gearboxes in the 30's. I've tried to find out where the Burman factory was at that time - and there seems to be some dispute on the Forum. One respondent says the Gearbox works (did Burman have more than one factory ?) was in Kings Norton, another says Ryland Road, Edgbaston. I think the latter is more likely - he lived in Ladywood. Can anyone shed any light on this ?
 
From 1933 kellys

Burman & Sons Limited, manufacturers of horse & barbers'
clippers, sheep shearers, motor cycle gear boxes &
steering gears, Ryland road, Edgbaston. T A " Burmanth,​
Birmingham;" T N Calthorpe 2641-2642
 
Bald Reynard said:
My Uncle worked at Burman Gearboxes in the 30's. I've tried to find out where the Burman factory was at that time - and there seems to be some dispute on the Forum. One respondent says the Gearbox works (did Burman have more than one factory ?) was in Kings Norton, another says Ryland Road, Edgbaston. I think the latter is more likely - he lived in Ladywood. Can anyone shed any light on this ?
Click to expand...


These are all the Burman,s for 1932
 
Hallo and welcome Reynard my father worked for Burmans in Ryland Rd during the 1930's, he also lived in Ryland Rd.It was interesting to read besides gear-boxes they also made sheep shears which I use to trim topiary.Mary
 
Im sure they had a factory in the Kings Norton factory centre

Mossy
 
Burmans did indeed have a factory at Kings Norton, the main entrance was in Wychall lane which is still there and the houses next to the entrance belonged to Burmans.
Sadly the Burman family sold its interests in the Company and after a few owners it moved to the old arial motercycle works in Grange Road Selly Oak in the 1990's merging with Hi-Ton engineering ltd to form Burman Hi-ton.
In 1996 the Company moved to the old BSA works in Montgommery Street,Sparkhill remaining there until its closure in 2006.
It was a good company to work for and still in touch with some who worked at Wychall lane,one who served his apprenteshipthere and worked for them all his working life!
I still have a printed Burmans box with a set of Hair clippers wrapped up in tissue paper.
Hope the above is of some intrest
John
 
There used to be a Burman Factory just off Wychall Lane in Kings Norton. The access road is almost opposite Wychall Park Grove. Some time in the '80s the factory closed and moved to Grange Road (of Ariel Motorcycles fame) where steering racks and other stuff were manufactured. That closed about 10 years ago.
 
I worked at Burmans in the 1960s.it was in Kings Norton next to Triplex.I had the dubious honor of being the first redunancy since the 1930s.
 
Ray Barrett said:
I worked at Burmans in the 1960s.it was in Kings Norton next to Triplex.I had the dubious honor of being the first redunancy since the 1930s.
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My Dad Bill Scott worked at Burmans in the 1950/60s, and again in the 1980s before taking his redundancy. They paid realy good money. You may remember I chap called Joe Doolin I think he had something to do with the Union, he and my Dad were best of pals.
 
KJSScott said:
My Dad Bill Scott worked at Burmans in the 1950/60s, and again in the 1980s before taking his redundancy. They paid realy good money. You may remember I chap called Joe Doolin I think he had something to do with the Union, he and my Dad were best of pals.
Click to expand...

Remembering names is not my strong point,but I do remember many faces there.One name I recall was our shop steward,he was Noel Walsh,and union meetings always seemed to end up in the "Dogpool" Stirchley.
 
  • In 1954 Kieft started to make a two seater sports car which could also be used as a road car. Using a Coventry Climax FWA engine, all independent suspension using transverse leaf springs at the rear and a lightweight glass fibre body the car was really a racing car and at £1560 it is doubtful if any were bought just as road cars.

  • The company was losing money and at the end of 1954 Kieft sold the company to racing driver Berwyn Baxter.

  • Kieft Cars left Wolverhampton in 1956 and moved to nearby Birmingham where they concentrated on preparing and tuning other makes of cars. There were plans for a return to making Kieft cars but these failed to materialise. The company was sold again in 1960 and changed its name to Burmans. Len.
 
My Dad worked at the Kings Norton site in the 60s and 70s. Thomas Condon was his name. Any memories?
 
My father worked for Burman's Kings Norton for a few years in the seventies but left & is now looking for who runs the pension scheme as he was entitled to a small pension of £20 a year Can anyone help please ?
 
I was an apprentice at Burmans from 1966 to 1971 continuing in the R & D department until 1975. I worked mostly in the toolroom between 66 to 71. It was in Wychall lane kings Norton near to Triplex.
 
If recall Burmans made power steering racks at Kings Norton they supplied Austin's for the Wolseley 18/85 and the Wolseley 6.
Today that may not seem like a big deal but back then power steering was rare in any car, and for it to be a steering rack was pretty much unheard of, Jaguar XJ6 had a power rack as well and that's about it.
Rolls Royce had power steering but not a rack and pinion it was a system style used on many American cars, one had to wait for the Shadow 2 for a power rack in a Roller.
 
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
If recall Burmans made power steering racks at Kings Norton they supplied Austin's for the Wolseley 18/85 and the Wolseley 6.
Today that may not seem like a big deal but back then power steering was rare in any car, and for it to be a steering rack was pretty much unheard of, Jaguar XJ6 had a power rack as well and that's about it.
Rolls Royce had power steering but not a rack and pinion it was a system style used on many American cars, one had to wait for the Shadow 2 for a power rack in a Roller.
Click to expand...
I started work at Burmans in 1966 as an apprentice and continued into the R& D dept leaving the company in 1975. We did a lot of testing in the R&D dept for power steering for Ford, Massey Ferguson etc
 
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
If recall Burmans made power steering racks at Kings Norton they supplied Austin's for the Wolseley 18/85 and the Wolseley 6.
Today that may not seem like a big deal but back then power steering was rare in any car, and for it to be a steering rack was pretty much unheard of, Jaguar XJ6 had a power rack as well and that's about it.
Rolls Royce had power steering but not a rack and pinion it was a system style used on many American cars, one had to wait for the Shadow 2 for a power rack in a Roller.
Click to expand...
Bob, you are absolutely right....Burmans were ahead of their time with rack and pinion steering......Unfortunately their quality was not the best. Their gear boxes were good except the syncro on first did not work well. They used a syncro ring instead of a cone which made all the difference in the world.
 
Bald Reynard said:
My Uncle worked at Burman Gearboxes in the 30's. I've tried to find out where the Burman factory was at that time - and there seems to be some dispute on the Forum. One respondent says the Gearbox works (did Burman have more than one factory ?) was in Kings Norton, another says Ryland Road, Edgbaston. I think the latter is more likely - he lived in Ladywood. Can anyone shed any light on this ?
Click to expand...
Hi my grandad William Smith worked there known as bill smith he said that Burnham's moved from there to kingsnorton if any help
 
Hi there my grandad William Smith known as bill smith worked at Burnham's in b end section I think around 1956 onwards just wondered if anyone remembers some of these names (forgive me if spellings are off on names not sure how they were spelt just going on how grandad pronounced them , he remembers someone called. Larry Kelly , Tony Keith I think he said he was a foreman, Paul Butterworth and his dad Fred Butterworth , Les cotteril , ken cotteril, charlie clarke who was in welding ,Ernie hobbis tho he wasn't too sure on the name said he was a boxer too ,harry clarke used to work in clipper shop, any one remember these people?
 
lencops said:
  • In 1954 Kieft started to make a two seater sports car which could also be used as a road car. Using a Coventry Climax FWA engine, all independent suspension using transverse leaf springs at the rear and a lightweight glass fibre body the car was really a racing car and at £1560 it is doubtful if any were bought just as road cars.

  • The company was losing money and at the end of 1954 Kieft sold the company to racing driver Berwyn Baxter.

  • Kieft Cars left Wolverhampton in 1956 and moved to nearby Birmingham where they concentrated on preparing and tuning other makes of cars. There were plans for a return to making Kieft cars but these failed to materialise. The company was sold again in 1960 and changed its name to Burmans. Len.
Click to expand...
This one brought back a few memories Ivor Newby whose Dad owned M M Lillies owned a Kieft sports car Ivor drove me down to London docks in it a very windy journey my first experience being driven very very fast this the same Ivor Newby who attempted to cross the English channel in an ex-army duck which sank
 
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