has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs more links to other articles to help integrate it into the encyclopedia . please help improve this article by adding links that are relevant to the context within the existing text . november 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . june 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message w. lucy & co. ltd type private industry electrical engineering metal castings street lighting controls and property founded circa 1812 incorporated 1897 headquarters oxford uk products medium voltage electrical switchgear electrical connectors & disconnectors isolators pillars street lighting controls traffic lighting and controls aluminium iron and copper castings property ownership development and management revenue 161 million gbp 2014 number of employees 1 200 website company website w. lucy & co. ltd is a privately owned international group headquartered in oxford . the company s origins date back more than 200 years when its principal business was manufacturing metal castings . since then the business has evolved and steadily expanded into a group comprising four distinct business units . the group operates in 8 countries from 16 locations employing over 1200 people . contents 1 history 2 headquarters 3 business 4 management & ownership 5 external links history edit the company s traceable origins date back to 1812 when william carter opened an ironmongery business in oxford although some sources date the business as far back as 1760 . carter began brass and iron foundry operations in summertown oxford in 1821 which he expanded into the jericho district of oxford in 1825 building a large factory next to the strategically important oxford to birmingham canal . in its early days the company manufactured agricultural machinery and ornamental ironwork such as balconies and railings . william lucy whose name the company carries became involved with the company around 1854 at a young age . he died in 1873 aged just thirty five . the mainstay of lucy s business shifted focus in the late 1800s as it became a key supplier of bookshelves and document storage systems to government offices universities museums and libraries following the introduction of its patented rolling stack system of shelving . the emerging electricity industry then presented a new opportunity around the turn of the 20th century . in 1905 john reid dick a businessman and qualified electrical engineer was headhunted to join the business as managing director and the company began winning contracts in the electrical industry for street lighting posts feeder pillars and fuse boxes . expansion in this market continued and between the two world wars the company cemented its reputation as a switchgear and electrical engineering firm although the foundry played a complementary part continuing to supply castings and other products to established markets . switchgear and components used in secondary power distribution such as ring main units remain a significant revenue stream more than 100 years on . the company expanded its focus to include overseas markets in the late 1960s and began selling products into the middle east market which remains a key destination of lucy electric products and services . lucy group now comprises a diversified portfolio of four distinct business units lucy electric lucy castings lucy zodion and lucy real estate . headquarters edit lucy group s corporate headquarters are based on the company s historic former factory site at eagle works in jericho oxford . business edit the company has four distinct business units lucy electric manufacturer of electrical switchgear solutions ; lucy zodion manufacturer of specialist energy efficient street lighting and control products ; lucy castings an aluminium iron and copper castings manufacturer ; and lucy real estate a residential property development and rental business centred on the oxford area . in 2014 group turnover was 160.9 m with profit before tax of 16.8 m. management & ownership edit the board of the group s parent company w lucy & co. ltd has been chaired by richard dick since 1990 . the board is served by a further two executive and three non executive directors . the company s shares are not quoted on any stock market and remain largely under the ownership of descendants of the dick and madgen families who took control of the company in 1905 . external links edit lucy group website lucy electric website lucy castings website lucy zodion website lucy real estate website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title w. lucy % 26 co. & oldid 691901709 categories electrical engineering companies of the united kingdomcompanies established in 1760companies based in oxfordhidden categories articles with too few wikilinks from november 2015all articles with too few wikilinksarticles covered by wikiproject wikify from november 2015all articles covered by wikiproject wikifyarticles lacking reliable references from june 2008all articles lacking reliable references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 22 november 2015 at 23 09 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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