75th Anniversary | Harnessing the flow Exploring over a century of innovation, from lighting up the first home with hydropower
to advancements in turbine design, Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd has been an integral player in the hydropower industry. In this exclusive interview, delve into the company’s rich history, recent accomplishments, and outlook for the future
Could you provide a brief overview of the early days of Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd and its significant contributions to the hydropower industry? Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd is a hydro turbine manufacturing company with a long history. It was established in 1853 as “Williamson Brothers” in Halfpenny Mill, Kendal, UK.
Above: Laser scanning a Pelton runner for inspection post machining
Initially focused on agricultural equipment, the company received its first order for a small hydropower turbine on August 17, 1856. The turbine was a Vertical Shaft Vortex type, producing 5 bhp under a net head of 30ft and running at 300 rpm. This installation was located just one mile away from the company’s original village location. Between 1856 and 1881 approximately 440 Vortex machines were sold.
In 1879, Williamson Brothers installed a water turbine, No 428 at Cragside, the residence of Lord Armstrong in Northumberland, England. This installation marked the first use of hydropower to generate electricity for lighting an entire house. In 1881, the Williamson Brothers sold the business
to Gilbert Gilkes, who focused the business on the sales and production of water turbines. Gilbert Gilkes
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was a vigorous Quaker entrepreneur, and he started a major export drive which led to the sale of about 600 turbines at home and in more than 20 countries In 1894 Gilbert Gilkes & Co Ltd was formed. 1889 had seen the introduction of Pelton turbines which are suited to higher heads than the Vortex. This led to a strong market for private house lighting as well as for export to countries where there was a British engineering influence, notably tea estates and mines in mountainous parts of the world. Subsequently, in 1897, Gilkes installed the first turbine for a hydro power scheme at Balmoral, Scotland for HM Queen Victoria. The system was later rebuilt and upgraded in 2004 to resume generating electricity on the British Royal Family’s Private Estate. In 1919, Eric Crewdson, the grandfather of the
current Chairman at Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd, invented and patented the tangential flow impulse turbine known as the ‘Turgo Impulse Turbine’. This innovative turbine combined the benefits of a Pelton type impulse turbine with a higher specific speed. Positioned between a Pelton and Francis machine in terms of head and flow characteristics, Turgo turbines excel in handling “dirty and abrasive water” without compromising performance. The first 30kW Turgo
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