60 YEARS OF MANBAT

Sporting Trivia

2012 is not just a momentous year for Queen Elizabeth II or because the UK is hosting the games of the 30th Olympiad, it is also the 60th anniversary of the founding of Manchester Batteries, the original name of Manbat Ltd, the UK’s largest battery distributor.

To mark the occasion, the company has highlighted some of its most notable milestones and to reflect a sporting theme in this Olympic year has linked them with a memorable sporting fact from the same year.

1952 – Harry Pemberton began assembling and distributing car and commercial vehicle batteries from Turnpike Cottages in Abergele, South Wales. The plates for these batteries were manufactured in Manchester, which is why the company began as Manchester Batteries. 1952 was also the first Olympic games to include a team from the USSR and Hungary’s famous ‘golden team’ won the football gold medal with a 2:0 win over Yugoslavia

1969 – Manchester Batteries move into larger premises in Water Street and Jackie Stewart wins the first of his three F1 World Drivers Championships in a Matra MS10

1970 – The Snowdon Battery, from which Manbat’s corporate logo was derived, made its first appearance. In the World Cup, Brazil beat Italy 4:1 in the final in Mexico

1980 – Battery assembly at Abergele ends, but Roger Pemberton opens the first branch in Shrewsbury and the distribution side of the business begins to expand. Although the USA and 61 other countries boycotted the summer Olympics in Moscow, the UK team were present and Allan Wells, Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Daley Thompson and Duncan Goodhew all win gold medals

1982 – Manchester Batteries begins its association with VARTA BATTERIES of Germany, a relationship that thrives to the present day. In the world of golf, Tom Watson wins both the US and British Open

1983 – Manchester Batteries set up another company in central Manchester under the direction of Malcolm Hodgkinson and ‘Super Mac’ John McEnroe wins the second of his three Wimbledon singles titles

1988 – Another new company, Snowdon Batteries Ltd was set up in Chesterfield to serve South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. At the same time, the first Olympiad of the professional era was notable for the disqualification of Ben Johnson for the use of steroids after ‘winning’ the blue riband 100 metre final

1994 – Manbat Ltd was formed to handle export and import and purchasing for all the companies in the group. Michael Schumacher driving a Benetton wins the first of his seven F1 World Drivers Championships

1997 – The four original companies were incorporated into Manbat Ltd. Mike Tyson is disqualified from a WBA championship fight for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear

1999 – Manbat achieves ISO 9002 certification and opens a fifth branch, this time in Bristol. Manchester United score two goals in the last two minutes of injury time to beat FC Bayern Munich 2:1 in the Champions League final

2000 – Manbat’s sixth branch is opened, this time north of the border in Glasgow. While in Sydney, Steve Redgrave makes Olympic history by winning gold in the coxless four rowing final and in doing so secured a gold medal in five consequtive games

2002 – Manbat is 50 years old and launches the Numax brand, which over the last decade has established itself as the UK’s premier leisure battery range. A 2:0 victory over Germany in Yokohama makes Brazil the World Cup winners for an unpresidented fifth time

2003 – Manbat forms its first supply partnership, with Longton Batteries Ltd of Preston and National Autoparts is appointed sole agent for Numax in the Republic of Ireland. In November, England beat Australia 20:17 to lift the Webb Ellis trophy and win the Rugby World Cup final to complement the Six Nations championship they’d won six months earlier

2004 – Manbat acquires Direct Battery Supplies (UK) Ltd, which becomes its seventh branch and the first in the South East. The Olympics return to Athens for the first time since the first official games in 1896 and witnessed Michael Phelps dominate the games and take eight medals, six of them gold

2005 – Manbat buys Auto Battery Service of Guildford and Lance Armstrong wins the last of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories

2006 – Manbat makes it branch number nine with the acquisition of R.Thursby Ltd of Sunderland. In Germany, Italy beat France 5:3 on penalties after extra time in the World Cup final to claim their fourth World Cup title

2009 – Manbat signs a licence with Lucas Electrical for the sole rights to market and distribute Lucas batteries in the UK and Eire. In Formula One, Jenson Button becomes the UK’s tenth F1 World Drivers Champion in a Brawn GP

2010 – Roger Pemberton retires after 33 years as MD and Steve Sheppard takes on the mantle after 10 years as sales director as the company becomes part of the Eco-Bat Technologies group. At Wimbledon John Isner and Nicolas Mahut play the longest match in tennis history in the first round of the championship. Isner eventually won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 in 11 hours, five minutes in a match that took three days to complete

2011 – In a move that clearly demonstrates its intention to continue the impressive growth of the business, Manbat opens a new HQ and distribution centre up the road from its long-term home in Grange Business Park, Shrewsbury. The All Blacks scrape home against a rejuvenated French team to finally get their hands back on the Rugby World Cup trophy they won the during the inaugural tournament in 1987

2012 – Manbat celebrates its sixtieth anniversary with its debut appearance as an exhibitor at Automechanika, Frankfurt in September, but what will be the sporting highlight of 2012? For Chelsea fans if might be their Champions League triumph and Manchester City fans their Premiership title. However it could also be Bradley Wiggins’ victory in the Tour de France or one of the outstanding performances of the London 2012 Olympics.

Finally, here’s a fact for those that have a mind to complain about the price of batteries these days. In 1990, when Martin Brundle, Price Cobb and John Nielsen were winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in their Jaguar XJR-12, a standard 063 battery cost virtually the same as it does today. Compare that to the typical cost of petrol, which was just 47p per litre!

For further details about Manbat or its products, please call Customer Services on: 01743 218500 or visit: www.manbat.co.uk

ENDS

For further information relating to this press material, please contact Steve Coombes on: 01753 785957 or e-mail: steve@chicanemarketing.co.uk

Chicane is an established PR agency with a particular specialism in the automotive aftermarket and the motorsport industry.
Prix De la Communication and Barrington Needham Trophy award winners