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CONCENTRATION AND INTEGRATION IN THE SHEFFIELD CRUCIBLE STEEL INDUSTRY.

Authors :
Timmins, J. G.
Source :
Business History; Mar1982, Vol. 24 Issue 1, p61, 18p
Publication Year :
1982

Abstract

The article focuses on the scale of operations and the extent of integration in the steel industry in Sheffield, England. It is commonly held that before the adoption of bulk steel making during the second half of the nineteenth century, the Sheffield steel industry was characterized by small-scale enterprise. For more than a century the expansion of the Sheffield steel industry was achieved largely by means of the endeavors of many relatively small concerns operating with comparatively little capital and often in very restricted premises. More recently, Dr A. Birch has restated this viewpoint, remarking, additionally, on the structure of steel making firms. The history of the steel industry in Sheffield in the first half of the nineteenth century is of the building up of small-scale concerns in the backyards and orchards of the houses in the town. There was a great proliferation of small concerns specializing in the business of converting and refining. Although Dr. Birch over-simplifies, the emphasis, he and Professor G.P. Jones have placed on the numerical predominance of small-scale production units in the industry cannot be disputed.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00076791
Volume :
24
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Business History
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
5953051
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/00076798200000004