Category Big Business1

          Bournville took its birth from the expansion plans of Cadbury. In 1879, Richard and George decided to build a new factory. Those days, factories were no different from dungeons. Richard and George Cadbury wanted to build something better for their workers, and Bournville was built on a fourteen acre plot.

          Unlike other factories, it had warm rooms to dry clothes and places to heat food. The brothers also built a workers’ village around the factory. Each house had a garden big enough to grow vegetables. Workers were also provided with recreation facilities like football and cricket fields for the men and boys, and a playground and a garden with a lily pond for the wives and daughters.

          The workers were given good wages, medical treatment and pension. Bournville was a multi-purpose factory site. During World War II, the company converted parts of the factory into workrooms to manufacture equipment like pilot seats for fighter planes.

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          The sweetness of Cadbury is 195 years old. It all started in Birmingham, when a young John Cadbury opened a grocery shop in 1824, where he sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate.

          Right from the beginning, John was concerned with finding an alternative for alcohol. He strongly believed that drinking ruined many families. He invested all his hopes in his chocolate drink and it soon gained popularity.

          By 1831, he decided to expand the business and started producing a range of drinking chocolates and cocoas. Luckily for him, the heavy tax on cocoa was cut down significantly, which made his cocoa products affordable to the masses.

          In 1854, Queen Victoria issued them their first Royal Warrant. But, luck did not always favour John. The death of his second wife devastated him; soon he turned towards social work, leaving his company in the hands of his sons, Richard and George.

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          The idea of Volvo cars was conceived in a Swedish ball bearing factory. Assar Gabrielsson was working in the company as a sales manager when his wife died in an accident. This had an impact on him. ‘It’s time to create a safer new car’ he thought.

          Engineer Gustav Larson understood his concern. It snows a lot in Sweden which decreases the friction of the tyres, making driving difficult. The engineers worked with this in mind and in 1927, they came out with a stable car with a highly responsive steering wheel. Their cars were specially noted for their safety features. The cars were a huge success following which Volvo trucks and buses hit the market and were exported across Europe.

          Throughout its history, the ownership of Volvo cars has been transferred from one group to another. It is currently under the Geely Holding Group of China. Other Volvo products including trucks, buses and marine and industrial supplies are owned by AB Volvo.

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          The word Boeing brings to our mind an image of an aircraft. Aviation pioneer William Edward Boeing established Pacific Aero Products Co. in 1916 to manufacture aeroplanes. The company was renamed Boeing a short while after the designing of Model C, their first airplane.

          Boeing started with making planes for military and transportation purposes. Though it dominated the market in the 1920s, the company had a strong rival from the start of the 1930s- McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Boeing came out with some of its best models to compete with Douglas. The company later purchased Douglas in 1997.

          By the end of the 20th century, Boeing produced most of the world’s best sellers till date. Its first wide-body jetliner Boeing 747, capable of carrying 490 passengers held a capacity record for 37 years and over 1,500 such planes were sold.

          Things weren’t always easy for Boeing. The company was nearly bankrupt in the 1970s, but regained sound financial status by the 90s.

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          In 1903, a twenty-year-old William Harley decided to establish a motor company. It was a time when small motorcycle production units were springing across the US. This bold decision was made in a small shack, when he had nothing except a strong will.

          He founded Harley-Davidson along with brothers Arthur and Walter Davidson. A century after their humble start, their brand is still deeply ingrained in the minds of bike lovers, not only in America, but all over the world.

          Their powerful engines and sportive design helped Harley-Davidson to secure a place in the market. They were the first to produce a catalogue for a motor vehicle in the world. William Davidson joined the company in 1907 and the next decade saw rapid growth. The company produced bikes for the US army during both the World Wars.

          Within a span of 20 years, the company expanded to become the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, supplying bikes to 67 countries. Their performance based models like Electra Glide and V-Rod dominate the roads today.

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          Jeep is a truly American brand. Its journey began in 1940. The Second World War was gaining momentum and the US military was looking for a lightweight vehicle that could traverse all terrains in any season. The army contacted 135 companies for this purpose.

          The American Bantam Car Company came out with a prototype which was later modified by Willys. Willys developed a four-wheeler military vehicle named ‘Quad’ which fought the American Wars alongside the soldiers. Almost 300,000 Willys Quads were in military use and it was not available for the civilians until 1945.

          Kaiser Motors bought Willys in 1953. It was then named Kaiser-Jeep and the company came out with more civilian models like Wagoner which lived by the slogan ‘go anywhere, do anything’.

          Jeep was bought by Chrysler in 1987. The 1990s saw an explosion of interest in SUVs, and Jeep took advantage of the public’s enthusiasm by introducing premium models like Grand Cherokee. The company is now owned by is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

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