50 Years Since First Bean

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32073, 22 August 1969, Page 9

50 Years Since First Bean

Fifty years ago the first Bean car was made In Staffordshire, England. The Bean company is still in business—it produces a large variety of machined and cast items for British Leyland and the British motor Industry as a whole —but the last Bean car was made 40 years ago. The company started after an engineer, George Bean, married the daughter of another engineer, John Harper. From the union of families emerged the firm of John Harper, Son, and Bean. George Bean believed cars were the coming thing, and he designed one to be made at the Harper factories. In 1919 the first Bean car was I produced. This car proved very popular, and eventually three factories were making the vehicles. The Bean was a very reliable car—and this was proved when a Bean became the first car to cross Australia. Bean trucks were also made, and at one time were a considerable threat to the future of Morris trucks. But in 1929, in spite of the injection of more capital into the enterprise, production of the Bean car ended. The trouble was that the Bean was a high-quality car, and it cost a great deal of money to produce. Volume production techniques might

have saved it, but they came too late.

The firm's engineering skill was applied to other tasks, and the company started making munitions, particularly naval shells. In 1937 Hie firm produced one more car: Captain George Eyston'g land speed - record car “Thunderbolt,” which later set a new record at 312 m.pi.

In 1959 the company was acquired by Standard-Tri-umph, and it continued to make parts and components

for toe motor industry. When Triumph was acquired by Leyland, the Bean company went too. Today the company employs more than 2400 people, and produces cylinder-block and head castings for toe motor industry at the rate of 1000 tons a week. On addition the company reconditions up to 2000 engines a week. Bean Industries, Ltd, makes engine blocks for Triumph Herald, Saab, Landrover, and the Rover 2000.