Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies, Ltd., Ipswich, England

W.G.V. Balchin (Consultant Editor).  The Country Life Book of the Living History of England.  Country Life Books, 1981.

Robert Ransome started this firm in the late 1700's, initially casting ploughshares.  He accidentally stumbled on the process of chilled casting when a mold broke, allowing its molten contents to come into contact with cold metal, resulting in a very hard edge.  Over the ensuing decades they branched into lawnmowers and forklifts, and eventually were bought out by larger firms (Electrolux of Sweden and Textron in the U.S.A.).  The company was concluded in 1998.