British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Ltd. with head office in Belgrave, Leicester, England, was formed around the turn of the 20th century as a subsidiary of United Shoe Machinery Company of the US, becoming part of a group which for most of the 20th century was the world's largest manufacturer of footwear machinery and materials, exporting shoe machinery to more than 50 countries.[1] After two takeovers and a BUSM-based management buyout the USM group became headquartered in Leicester[2] until entering administration in 2000.
In the 1960s and 1970s, it was Leicester's biggest employer employing more than 4,500 locally and 9500 worldwide.[1] Most of the workforce was recruited via an apprentice scheme which trained a large proportion of Leicester's engineers.[1][3] The company had "a respected reputation for technical innovation and excellence",[1] between 1898 and 1960, it developed and marketed nearly 800 new and improved shoe machines and patented more than 9,000 inventions, at one time employing 5% of the UK's patent agents.[4]
The collapse of the company in October 2000 destroyed the pensions of the workers. Their story became "one of the most vivid examples of what can go wrong with..Private Equity".[5] The company subsequently went into administrative receivership and was the subject of a management buyout. This new company itself went into administration in September 2006. In November 2006 a new independent company, Advent Technologies Ltd, was formed by former workers of BUSM providing technical support, advice and spare parts for the range of BUSM machinery.
^ abcdHowie, Iain (1999). USM Serving the Shoemaker for 100 years. Shoe Trades Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 0-9536531-0-2.
^Howie 1999, p. 117
^Howie 1999, p. 90.
^Howie 1999, p. 23
^Nick Mathiason (10 June 2007). "Private equity stole our pensions". Observer Newspapers. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
and 24 Related for: British United Shoe Machinery information
BritishUnitedShoeMachinery (BUSM) Ltd. with head office in Belgrave, Leicester, England, was formed around the turn of the 20th century as a subsidiary...
UnitedShoeMachinery Corporation (USMC) was a U.S.-based manufacturer of various industrial machinery, particularly for the shoe manufacturing industry...
dropped in July 2009. Garnier's constituents were amongst 544 BritishUnitedShoeMachinery workers who lost their pensions following the company entering...
manufacturer of machinery for the footwear industry. The company sold its subsidiary the Gimson ShoeMachinery Company to the BritishUnitedShoeMachinery Company...
strategic business unit Braathens (IATA airline designator) BritishUnitedShoeMachinery, Leicester UK Bücker Flugzeugbau, a German aircraft manufacturer...
Bennion Ltd later merged with the UnitedShoeMachinery Company of America to form the BritishUnitedShoeMachinery Co. Ltd. Charles Bennion was managing...
Studies. Cohen was chairman of Apax at the time of the Apax-owned BritishUnitedShoeMachinery pension collapse in 2000 which left 544 workers, many of them...
effected by the most elegant and precise machinery; while, as each operation is performed by one hand, so each shoe passes through twenty-five hands, who...
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions...
Grey estate and the Park was bought by local businessman and BritishUnitedShoeMachinery founder Charles Bennion who gave it in perpetuity to the people...
from the United States (c. 7300 BC) Neolithic esparto sandals from Spain (c. 5000 BC) The Areni-1 shoe from Armenia (c. 3500 BC) Ötzi's shoe, made from...
heels and uppers for shoes themselves made to uniform sizes. Uniformity was mainly due to the precision possible from machinery, but also, quality was...
Grand Hotel is built in Granby Street.[citation needed] 1899 BritishUnitedShoeMachinery is established in Belgrave Road. Leicester Central railway station...
to machinery wherever it can be applied, to which, under the guidance of superior education and intelligence, the remarkable prosperity of the United States...
(CanLII), [2004] 1 SCR 902 (Supreme Court of Canada), para 58 BritishUnitedShoeMachinery Co. v. Simon Collier Ltd. (1910), 27 RPC 567, p 571; [7] Monsanto...
Square, Northampton with installed closing machinery, thus inaugurating the indoor factory system for boot and shoe making. This building was demolished in...
1974. It had examples of shoes from the 200 years of the companies history. The museum also included a display of machinery used in footwear production...
Shops: Textile Machinery Building in New England, 1813–1949 (1950). Thomson, Ross (1989). The Path to Mechanized Shoe Production in the United States. University...
Global Information