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Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd. (STC). In May 1883, the US company, Western Electric, opened up a small office and store in London. From this small beginning, a substantial telephone company developed in Britain. In September 1925, the International Western Electric Company was bought by the International Telephone and Telegraph Company (ITT). Following this purchase, the name of the British company was changed to Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd., a name unchanged until the late 1980s.
Initially, STC relied upon Western Electric technology, but with encouragement from their American owners, the company became more independent, developing their own technology. Not surprisingly, a substantial early use for valves was in telephone equipment, such as line amplifiers. All the early valves were either supplied by Western Electric or were based upon Western Electric designs. With the development of broadcasting, STC developed valves for use in radio receivers, initially using the brand name STANDARD.
During the period 1929 to 1931, the company concentrated on the production of valves for professional equipment, before returning to production for domestic type receivers. In 1932, a new brand name, MICROMIESH, was introduced, but this was replaced by BRIMAR in 1934. Valve manufacture was at Footscray in Kent. The Brimar valve and cathode-ray tube division was sold to Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd. in 1960.
Reference: 1004.
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