This film is part of Free

Rank Bush Murphy Expansion

The television production line is an all wave affair in Ernesettle.

Current affairs 1968 1 mins Silent

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Overview

The Rank Bush Murphy company in Ernesettle began making colour TV sets in 1949 with a 220 to 2500 increase in its workforce. By 1968 the company expanded again and in 1973 a second factory was opened at Somerset Place in Stoke making Bush, Murphy and Arena audio products until 1980. Bush became part of the Rank empire in 1945. In 1968 Rank Bush Murphy Electronics became a new division of Rank Precision Industries.

The TV sets house a cathode ray tube and a phosphorescent screen so don’t adjust your sets. In 1950 the popular DAC90A and DAC10 radios were launched and the TV22 television. By the 1960s cheaper Japanese imports from companies such as Sony with new semiconductor technology produced less cumbersome radios and televisions. UK companies merged in an attempt to fight off the competition. Rank formed an alliance with Toshiba in 1978 and in 2009 the last television was assembled as the production line moved to Poland. The once large factory in Ernesettle became a small distribution centre and is now Chinese-owned.