Ferranti-Packard: Pioneers in Canadian Electrical Manufacturing [Hardcover]

Norman R. Ball (Author), John N. Vardalas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994 | ISBN-10: 0773509836 | ISBN-13: 978-0773509832

Ferranti-Packard was one of Canada's earliest manufacturers to employ some of the most significant technologies of this century - those involved in the production of electric power, automobiles, and computers. In this illustrated corporate history of Ferranti-Packard, Norman Ball and John Vardalas survey the research, development, design, and marketing decisions adopted by the company in an effort to commercialize these technologies in a North American market dominated by a few corporate giants. Through their case-study of the evolution of a relatively small manufacturer such as Ferranti-Packard, Ball and Vardalas address a number of broader themes in the history of Canadian business and technology. Ferranti-Packard was British-owned and thus provides a revealing subject for the authors' investigation of the impact of foreign direct investment on Canadian industrial and technological capabilities. An important theme in this analysis is the interplay of British and North American corporate cultures. Ball and Vardalas explain the complex nature of technical and managerial relationships between subsidiaries and parent firms, demonstrating that Ferranti-Packard did not passively receive parent-firm expertise but was highly innovative in product design and marketing philosophy. The association between government and business in the development and direction of technology in Canadian industries since the Second World War is also explored.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book provides an important contribution to our knowledge of both the electric equipment industry and the electronics/computer industry in Canada ... The strength of the book lies in the sophisticated technological orientation of the authors. The secondary literature cited indicates that they have a good grasp of the general literature on Canadian business and technology and they use the primary sources effectively to present a coherent narrative that explains clearly to the lay reader the intricacies of the technologies discussed." Graham Taylor, Department of History, Dalhousie University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mcgill Queens Univ Pr (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773509836
• ISBN-13: 978-0773509832
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,850,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Toronto Transformed, April 6, 2008

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John Feesey "fees" (British Columbia,Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ferranti-Packard: Pioneers in Canadian Electrical Manufacturing (Hardcover)

The richly photographic social history of the pioneering of electricity generation and how it instantly transformed a sleeping agricultural colony called Upper Canada and the little town of Toronto into an economic giant.

From genesis in power transmission to the pinnacle of a too brief Canadian industrial renaissance in Ontario,this book does it all. The quantum leap from depression era pessimism to postwar ebullience ,the stunning post industrial decline in the light of global cold war politics is laid out and carefully referenced.

The exhaustively documented tale suffers from being academic and a tad rich in technologic detail,so the book is not going up for a GG award, It nonetheless is magical in narrative scope and deserves a read.