Ferranti-Packard

Ferranti-Packard was one of Canada's earliest manufacturers to employ some of the most significant technologies of this century - those involved in the production of electric power, automobiles, and computers. In this illustrated corporate history of Ferranti-Packard, Norman Ball and John Vardalas survey the research, development, design, and marketing decisions adopted by the company in an effort to commercialize these technologies in a North American market dominated by a few corporate giants. Through their case-study of the evolution of a relatively small manufacturer such as Ferranti-Packard, Ball and Vardalas address a number of broader themes in the history of Canadian business and technology. Ferranti-Packard was British-owned and thus provides a revealing subject for the authors' investigation of the impact of foreign direct investment on Canadian industrial and technological capabilities. An important theme in this analysis is the interplay of British and North American corporate cultures. Ball and Vardalas explain the complex nature of technical and managerial relationships between subsidiaries and parent firms, demonstrating that Ferranti-Packard did not passively receive parent-firm expertise but was highly innovative in product design and marketing philosophy. The association between government and business in the development and direction of technology in Canadian industries since the Second World War is also explored.