Brush SEM

BRUSH SEM is a manufacturer of large generators for gas turbine and steam turbine drive applications, based at Plzeň in the Czech Republic.

The site for BRUSH SEM was established in 1859, by Count Wallenstein-Vartenberk who set up a branch of his foundry and engineering works in Plzeň approximately 100 km south west of Prague in the Czech Republic.

In 1869, the plant was taken over by Emil Škoda, an industrious engineer and dynamic entrepreneur who was quick to expand the business. In the 1880s, Škoda established what was then a very modern steelworks capable of delivering castings weighing dozens of tons. Steel castings and, later, forgings for larger passenger liners and warships went on to rank alongside the sugar mills as the top export branches of Škoda's factory.

In 1899, the ever-expanding business was transformed into a joint-stock company, and before the First World War the Škoda Works became the largest arms manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. It was a main contractor to the army and navy supplying mainly heavy guns and ammunition. The First World War brought a drop in the output of peacetime products but huge sums were invested into expanding production capacities for military products.

By that time, Škoda Works had acquired a number of companies in the Czech Lands and abroad that were not involved in arms manufacture. In 1917, the company had 35,000 employees in Plzeň.

With the emergence of the Czechoslovakia in 1918, and the complex economic conditions of post-war Europe the company was transformed from what was exclusively an arms manufacturer into a multi-sector concern. In addition to traditional branches, the production programme embraced a number of new concepts, such as steam (and later electric) locomotives. aircraft, ships, machine tools, steam turbines, power-engineering equipment, etc.

In 1924, the Škoda works manufactured their first turbogenerator with an output of 14MW and their first hydro generator in 1926.

The deteriorating political situation in Europe saw arms production rise again in the mid-thirties. The Second World War and the company's forced integration into the German weapons programme led to serious damage at the Works themselves (70% of the company complex was destroyed by Allied bombing in April 1945) and the loss of several foreign markets.

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Wikipedia