GKN Shadow Factory

In 1854, a young Birmingham businessman named J.S. Nettlefold revolutionised the screw manufacturing industry by introducing automated American machinery to his factory. To accommodate this new technology, Nettlefold partnered with his brother-in-law, the renowned statesman Joseph Chamberlain, to establish the expansive Heath Street Works in Smethwick.

Within just over a decade, Nettlefolds had come to dominate the market, securing their position in 1880 when they acquired one of their local rivals, the Birmingham Screw Company. This newly acquired facility was nearly as large as the original Heath Street Works and stood facing it across the Birmingham Canal.

By the outbreak of World War I, the Nettlefolds juggernaut was producing over half of all the screws, nuts, and bolts used in the country. The company continued to thrive, and in the late 1960s, the 50-acre GKN Screws and Fasteners complex that housed the Nettlefolds headquarters employed some 4,500 people.