Key Site Dates

1886	GEC started as a small business created by Hugo (later Lord) Hirst and Gustav Byng.
1887	They published the world's first electrical catalogue which included telephone equipment.
1888	They opened a small factory in Manchester making electrical apparatus including telephone equipment.
1895	A new and much larger factory in nearby Salford was built, exclusively to make telephone equipment, and following a fire at the Manchester premises, all production was moved to there. This factory was known as Peel Works because it was adjacent to Peel Park.
1908	Mr. M.S. Conner, an American telephone expert, joined GEC.
1912	The parts of GEC associated with telephone equipment, i.e. the Salford factory, were established as a separate subsidiary company, Peel Conner Telephone Works Ltd.
1915	With expansion in mind, Mr. Conner visited Coventry and decided that the population growth caused by the development of the motor industry would provide a good supply of female labour. On his recommendation, GEC bought the Copsewood estate at Stoke.
1916	GEC built a factory on the site for the production of magnetos by a subsidiary company, Conner Magneto Ignition Ltd.
1920	Work began on a larger factory on the same site for the production of telephone equipment – to become Telephone Works. Houses were also built for the workers to be transferred from Salford - in Copsewood Terrace for the Executives, Second Avenue for the Superintendents, and First Avenue for the Artisans (skilled craftsmen).
1921	All production was transferred from Salford to the Coventry factory which commenced manufacture as the Peel Conner Telephone Works.
1923	Mr. Conner returned to America and the Conner Magneto Ignition company went into liquidation. Its factory was turned over to the production of crystal sets and later valved radio sets and absorbed into the main telephone works which was renamed GEC Telephone and Radio Works.
1928	Land on the western boundary of the estate was acquired, which enabled two more entrances to be built, in Glencoe Road and Harris Road.
1961	GEC took over Radio and Allied Holdings. Three new companies were formed: GEC (Radio and Television) Ltd., which took over radio and television production, GEC (Electronics) Ltd., which took over Spon Street and Ford Street factories, and GEC (Telecommunications) Ltd., with its headquarters at Telephone Works.
1967	GEC took over AEI (Associated Electrical Industries) and merged the telecoms businesses of both companies into GEC-AEI Telecommunications Ltd.
1968	GEC merged with English Electric. The prime reason for this was the rationalisation of heavy electrical industry in the UK, and it had no immediate impact on the telecomms side of the business. It was significant, however, in that one of the English Electric subsidiaries which came "into the fold" was the Marconi Company.
1972	Name changed to GEC Telecommunications Ltd.
1988	GEC-Plessey Telecommunications formed, a merger of GEC’s and Plessey’s Telecomms businesses.
1989	GEC and Siemens took over Plessey, and GEC-Plessey Telecommunications became a Joint Venture, 60% GEC / 40% Siemens. The business officially became GPT (as opposed to just an acronym), where the initials didn’t expand, as Plessey no longer existed.
1998	GEC acquired Siemens’ 40% stake in GPT, making it 100% GEC owned, and merged it with its Italian Marconi business to form Marconi Communications – still owned by parent GEC. The site is re-named New Century Park, with the turn of the century approaching.
1999	GEC (i.e. the parent company) was renamed Marconi plc, the GEC name disappearing after 113 years.
2006	The design and development side of the business was sold to Ericsson, and the maintenance and services side of the business (the last direct descendant of GEC) was renamed Telent Ltd, as Ericsson had also bought the rights to the Marconi name.
2008	Telent moved off the site to new premises in Warwick. Large scale demolition of the Telent parts of the site commenced.
2009	Ericsson moved off the site to new premises at Ansty. Demolition of the remaining parts of the site commenced. The only part of the entire site due to remain standing is the building latterly known as Leamington House, which, as the newest building on the site, is now leased to a call centre company by the site's new owners.