Carver Group 250th anniversary Martin Greig spoke to Non-Executive President of Carver Group, David Carver.
Nevertheless, whip making remained an important part of Carver Group until 1958 when it was sold, as a going concern. But the transformation of the business had begun decades earlier with David’s grandfather, also David (known as Dav), renting premises from which he ran his start-up engineering business. “If it hadn’t been for my grandfather, whom I sadly never met, we might still have been a tiny whip-making business, of which there are one or two still around in Walsall,” says David.
He recognised he had to make money, but he was really there to enjoy his hobby.” Even so, Dav was instrumental in the company surviving both World Wars, converting much of the company’s machinery to make artillery shell fuse carriers. At its peak, the business was operating 24/7 to produce fuse carriers.
Hard times
Producing fuse carriers for the MoD undoubtedly kept the company in business, but it almost bankrupted the firm too, twice, when the MoD abruptly ended the contracts at the end of both wars. But Carver Group faced a bigger challenge in 1942 when Dav developed heart problems and passed suddenly, leaving the company with nobody to run it.
Engineering
David’s grandfather was the fifth generation of the family to run the business and a critical character in the company’s transformation. His arrival coincided with the rise of mass motorised transport. “Whip making was still a substantial part of the business when Dav was around. But he was sure that whip making wasn’t the future and, anyway, he wanted to be an engineer.” Dav served his apprenticeship with Siemens in Stafford, building a car for his project. “Truth be told, he wasn’t a great businessman,” says David, “but Dav loved his engineering.
The story of Carver Group over the last quarter of a millennia is one of constant reinvention – a story that is deeply intertwined with the industrial evolution of the United Kingdom. Formed in Walsall in 1776 by Joseph Carver, the company capitalised on the town’s growing reputation as a centre of excellence in the leather trade to make whips for the carriage industry. At its height, Carver was manufacturing custom-made whips – and other products – and exporting to every corner of the world. New technologies and techniques, developed by the company, led to whip cores being made from steel rather than traditional whale bone. This development opened up a new chapter for the company, leading it into the manufacture of steel rods used to clean drains and chimneys.
Making shell fuse carriers
At the time, David’s father John was working for a large engineering firm which refused to release him, meaning his uncle Joseph (Jos) was forced to leave school to run the business. That he did was a great testament to his abilities but eventually, in 1947, he was joined by his elder brother John. For the next few years Carver survived by making machines for all sorts of applications, including plastic bottle
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