C. A. Parsons & Company

C. A. Parsons and Company were founded in 1889 to develop Charles Parson's invention; the steam turbine. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company was producing up to 50 turbines a year at its factory in Heaton. The company's heyday was in the 1960s, when the factory employed more than 7,000 people at its 100 acres (40 ha) split site.