& jefferies limited company name plate on steam engine boiler former type from 1911 public listed company industry agricultural engineering general engineering manufacturing fate taken over successor textron inc. founded of company 1884 of enterprise before 1789 defunct 1998 headquarters ipswich england products ploughs traction engines threshing machines combine harvesters lawn mowers trolleybuses forklifts etc website www.jacobsen.com europe ransomes sims and jeffries limited was a major british agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in ipswich suffolk including traction engines trolleybuses ploughs lawn mowers combine harvesters and other tilling equipment . ransomes also manufactured direct current electric motors in a wide range of sizes and electric forklift trucks and tractors . they manufactured aeroplanes during the first world war . their base specially set up in 1845 was named orwell works . ransomes railway equipment business was hived off in 1869 with a different ownership as ransomes & rapier and based nearby at waterside ironworks . contents 1 history 2 mowers 3 styles 4 products 5 publications 6 see also 7 references 8 bibliography 9 external links history edit ransome victory plough monze zambia the enterprise was started by robert ransome 1753 1830 a brass and iron founder in norwich before moving to ipswich in 1789 where he started casting ploughshares in a disused malting at st margaret s ditches in ipswich with capital of 200 and one employee . as a result of a mishap in his foundry a broken mould caused molten metal to come into contact with cold metal making the metal surface extremely hard chilled casting which he advertised as self sharpening ploughs and received patents for his discovery . 1 thrashing machine advertisement c. 1885 in 1809 robert ransome made his eldest son james ransome 1782 1849 his partner and they called themselves ransome & son . in 1826 james s son known as allen but technically james allen ransome 1806 1875 went to live at yoxford suffolk where he established a branch of the business . in 1839 allen ransome moved from yoxford to ipswich and under his direction the firm of j r & a ransome james robert and allen ransome was to assume huge proportions . 2 after about 1841 the manufacture of ploughs and other agricultural machinery was supplemented by production of portable traction and other steam engines and thrashing machines . 3 preserved 1910 built 4nhp light steam tractor back us boy in 1851 export trade was initiated which by the early 20th century was more important than the home market and included distributing agencies throughout the world with a branch establishment in odessa . 3 in 1869 four engineers allen who remained the senior partner in the parent firm his elder son r.j. ransome r.c. rapier and a.a. bennett took the firm s railway department aside from the parent business and established ransomes & rapier at riverside works ipswich . an independent factory was set up for the manufacture of lawn mowers of every class 3 ransomes produced the automaton hand powered lawn mower in 1867 . 4 in 1902 ransomes produced the first commercially available powered lawn mower driven by an internal combustion gasoline engine . in the first world war they manufactured aeroplanes 350 royal aircraft factory f.e. 2 fighters . in the 1950s ransomes started producing forklifts class 1 lift code 5 electric sit down counterbalance . with the start of production of the a series ransomes forklifts were sold by the hyster dealership network under hyster serial number codes a21r a22r a23r the r standing for ransomes ipswich plant . the codes still show in the hyster serial number system . ransomes also started producing class 2 lift code 3 electric stand on reach straddle machines . later the company expanded to producing class 6 lift code 1 electric tow tractors . when hyster corporation bought lewis sheppard the largest market for ransomes forklifts disappeared . in the early 1980s ransomes sold their forklift line to hawkins mechanical handling which produced machines under the hamech ransomes brand name . hawkins mechanical handling was later purchased by crown and the hamech name retired until 2004 when crown brought it back for use in an internal combustion engined forklift line . in 1989 the whole of the agricultural implement business was sold to electrolux and merged with their subsidiary verum . this left ransomes solely as a manufacturer of lawn mowers with the ransomes westwood and mountfield mower brands . the company accepted a take over offer from textron inc. usa and their independent existence ended early in 1998 . westwood and mountfield were later sold in a management buyout . 5 the history of the company and preceding businesses is the subject of an exhibition at the museum of east anglian life in stowmarket suffolk and they are also represented in ipswich transport museum . lawnmower advert lawnmower advert mowers edit ransomes 24 mk3 with trailered seat powered by a 5hp briggs and stratton i c ransomes to this day still produce a variety of grass cutting equipment . from professional high quality turf machines to more industrial gang mowers for use on wider areas such as public parks etc. yet they do still make a range of pedestrian mowers for use on manicured lawns and bowling greens for example . styles edit the business begun by robert ransome was later owned as partners by various individuals . the different names or styles by which the one enterprise was known before it was bought in 1884 by the limited liability joint stock company ransomes sims & jeffries limited were 1789 robert ransome . sole trader on his own account 1809 ransome & son . owners robert 1753 1830 and his son james ransome 1782 1849 1818 ransome & sons . owners robert the elder and his sons james and robert ransome 1795 1864 1823 j & r ransome . owners brothers james and robert ransome 1830 j r and a ransome . owners james and robert ransome and james s son allen james allen ransome 1806 1875 1846 ransomes & may . owners ransomes and charles may 1852 ransomes & sims . owners ransomes and william sims who replaces may 1869 ransomes sims & head . owners now joined by john head . separate firm ransomes & rapier took railway department 1881 ransomes sims & jefferies . owners j r and a ransome william head and john robert jefferies 1841 1900 1884 ransomes sims & jefferies limited a limited liability company was incorporated and it purchased the business from the former partners 1911 public listed company . in june 1911 250 000 of preference shares were offered to the public and they were listed on the london stock exchange products edit ransomes & may 1848 catalogue ploughs scarifiers cultivators rollers clod crushers corn gatherers dag rakes stack stands thrashing machines winnowing machines chaff engines turnip cutters mills publications edit good ploughing by e.j. roworth published by ransomes sims & jefferies ltd. 1973 see also edit this section is empty . you can help by adding to it . june 2014 references edit kenneth j goward . the ransomes connection to orwell park observatory . archived from the original on april 4 2008 . lee sidney ed . 1896 . ransome robert . dictionary of national biography . 47 . london smith elder & co. a b c ransomes sims and jefferies limited . the times wednesday jun 07 1911 ; pg . 18 ; issue 39605 the old lawnmower club . mountfield westwood buyout bibliography edit ransomes sims & jefferies agricultural engineers brian bell old pond publishing ltd 2001 isbn 1 903366 15 1 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to ransomes sims & jefferies . official website gallery of ransomes lawn mowers grace s guide history of ransomes sims and jefferies 1919 description of ipswich to willesden run by an orwell electric lorry v t e textron subsidiaries aai corporation aerosonde ltd avco bell helicopter cushman greenlee jacobsen dixie chopper ransomes lycoming engines textron aviation beechcraft cessna textron marine & land systems millenworks tru simulation training joint ventures bell agusta aerospace company electric transit inc. people scott c. donnelly dick millman jack j. pelton products m1117 armored security vehicle landing craft air cushion millenworks light utility vehicle cbu 97 sensor fuzed weapon ship to shore connector stingray light tank see also textron aircraft retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ransomes sims % 26 jefferies & oldid 712834330 categories agricultural machinery manufacturerssteam road vehicle manufacturerselectric motorselectrical engineering companies of the united kingdomtrolleybus manufacturersforklift truck manufacturerslawn mower manufacturersengine manufacturershistory of ipswichcompanies based in suffolkdefunct manufacturing companies of the united kingdomhidden categories articles incorporating cite dnb templatepages using infobox company 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