Ford Motor Company ltd.

Ford Motor Company entered the British automobile market in 1904 when the Ford Model A was presented at the Cordingly Auto Show. In 1907, Perry, Thornton & Schrieber, Ltd. gained the license to distribute Ford automobiles including the soon to be released Model T. The vehicles were shipped to Great Britain disassembled, or knocked down, and assembled in England. Ford Motor Company, (England) Ltd. was established on March 11, 1911 and produced the first British built Model T in October, 1911 at Trafford Park near Manchester. In addition to automobiles and trucks, Ford created Henry Ford & Son, Ltd. in Cork, Ireland to manufacture tractors. In order to meet growing demand for automobiles after World War I, Ford Motor Company, (England) Ltd. began purchasing land for a new factory northeast of London in 1924. In 1928, the English company was reorganized as Ford Motor Company, Ltd. and groundbreaking ceremonies for the new plant near the village of Dagenham were on May 16, 1929. The first Model AA truck was produced in October, 1931. The Dagenham plant was the largest automobile manufacturing facility in Europe and modeled after Ford's Rouge plant in Michigan. Ford's European operations were centered at Dagenham through the end of World War II. Sales and manufacturing facilities in Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden were managed from offices at Dagenham through World War II. The post-war restructuring of Ford's international operations led to the establishment of the Ford International Division in 1946 and the realignment of foreign operations back to the United States. Automobile and truck manufacturing remained at Dagenham until February 2002 when Ford Motor Company announced that automobile production would cease, leaving diesel engine production as the primary manufacturing operation.

From the description of Ford Motor Company, Ltd. collection, 1903-1990 (bulk 1925-1965). (The Henry Ford). WorldCat record id: 62879545