Birth of BLMC
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SIR DONALD PREDICTS NEW MODELS NEXT YEAR
• On Tuesday the largest motor vehicle manufacturer in the United Kingdom, British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd., became an operating company—the result of the merger between Leyland Motor Corporation and British Motor Holdings the largest industrial merger ever to take place in this country. The new, wholly British, company will now be in a position to challenge the other motor giants of Europe and the USA and is currently the fifth largest motor producer in the world.
British Leyland employs almost 200,000 people throughout the world and current sales are valued at more than £800m a year. The company will be one of the largest exporters in the country. Total overseas sales last year were almost £350m, of which almost £250m were direct exports from this country. An immediate short-term aim of the new company is to increase the sales turnover to over £1,000m.
The management of the new company will be organized on staff and line principles with the creation of a central staff to provide specialized services for the whole of the organization and the creation of operating divisions dealing with manufacture. The full management structure of British Leyland, it is stated, will take some time to evolve but
initially there will be seven operating divisions as follows:—
Volume Car and Light Commercial Vehicle division (13 MCI Specialist Car division (Triumph. Rover and Jaguar) Truck and Bus division Pressed Steel Fisher division Overseas division General Engineering and Foundries division Construction Equipment division
Commenting on the birth of British Leyland, chief executive Sir Donald Stokes said: "We have already made one decision which is vital to the future of British Leyland —we have formulated our new model policy in detail as far ahead as 1972, and in fact the public are likely to see some pretty interesting new products from us even next year".
The following new appointments have been announced by British Leyland:—
Engineering
Mr. Harry Webster, 50, executive chief engineer of the Volume Car and Light Commercial Vehicle division of British Leyland, which includes all BMC cars and light commercial vehicles, and is also appointed a director of BMC. Mr. Webster is currently director and chief engineer of StandardTriumph.
Mr. Spencer King, 43, chief engineer of Standard-Triumph to replace Mr. Webster. Mr. King is currently chief design engineer of the Rover Co.
Central staff Mr. Keith Hopkins, 38, director of public relations for British Leyland. Mr. Hopkins is currently group public relations officer of the Leyland Motor Corporation.
Mr. Michael Shanks, 41, director of marketing services and economic planning for British Leyland. Mr. Shanks is currently economic advisor to the board of the Leyland Motor Corporation.