Muirhead and Company was established in 1894 by Alexander Muirhead and in 1896 moved to Elmers End in Beckenham, Kent. The company went private in 1904. Prior to the First World War and during the interval between the two wars the Company specialised in the development and manufacture of terminal equipment for submarine cable stations, and in addition it produced a wide range of electrical and scientific instruments. By the 1930's the submarine telegraph section of the communications industry was in decline but by that time the Company had acquired considerable reputation for the precision and accuracy of its electrical and mechanical products.
The company was public in 1960 when they were manufacturers of precision electrical instruments and condensers. Muirhead specialised in picture telegraph, measuring and testing equipment for the electrical and communication industries. Muirhead successfully pioneered Precision R.C. Oscillators, Wave Analysers and other laboratory measuring and test equipment and due to excellence in design and production, a range of voltage standards cells were still being made after more than a century.
Muirhead & Co. acquired Addison Electric Co. in 1962 and acquired Vactric Control Equipment and Integrated Photomatrix in 1972. Muirhead’s Morden factory was closed in 1981 as the company was making a loss but it recovered and by 1985 was successfully making facsimile machines and electronic components, especially for the defence industry. The company was reformed into Muirhead Aerospace in 1999.
In 2008, the firm was incorporated into the AMETEK corporation and trades as Muirhead Aerospace. Products include Analog RVDTs, synchros, resolvers, digital optical encoders, permanent magnet generators AC, DC motors, torque motors, limited angle torque motors, variable reluctance motors, stepper motors, servo motor, gearboxes, and drive systems. Markets include aerospace, military and defence industries and vacuum applications.
