Sign Manufacturer's Brochures and Manuals
Ferranti-Packard (The Inventors of Flipdot Display Technology)
The company that became Ferranti-Packard began with the incorporation of Packard Electric Co. on August 30, 1894. Its head office was in Toronto, Ontario with its light
bulb manufacturing in Montreal, Quebec. In 1895 they moved all production to St. Catharines, Ontario where, over the next 10 years, expanded to produce watt-hour
meters, transformers, and Oldsmobile automobiles. In 1912, Ferranti Electric Co. of Canada, a subsidiary of Ferranti Ltd. in England, was formed by the Royce family
in Toronto, Ontario to sell their meters, and later, their own transformers as well. In 1936, Ferranti U.K. in England acquired a 33% interest in Packard Electric. Through
several administrative changes and facility expansions, both Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric grew in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1949, Ferranti Canada set up their
Electronics Research Department to explore the frontiers of digital technology. In 1958, Ferranti Canada and Packard Electric merged into Ferranti-Packard Ltd (F-P).

Things were beginning to decline in by the 1970s. Solutions were  needed, diversification was the answer, and making their Electronics Department profitable was the
path to that. F-P had already worked with Air Canada on computerization projects. They had also tasked F-P to create a practical way to departure and arrival times at
airports. Their research department took on the idea and came up with several inventions, but one stood out the best. Kenyon Taylor, the head of the research, came
up with the idea of displaying any character in a line of information using a fixed array of dots. Sizes would vary, but each dot was made of a thin metal disc, black on
one side and white on the other, and initially were attached to nylon threads which acted as the axis for rotation. A small permanent magnet was affixed to the back
of the disc, and an electromagnet was positioned behind that. The polarity of the electromagnet relative to the fixed magnet determined whether the disc was "off"
(black) or "on" (white). All this, driven by a computer with special data-processing circuitry. Early experimental prototypes used nylon threads from women's stockings
because they simply worked best. Taylor sent his associate, Dr. Sydney V. Soanes to the local department store's women's section to acquire an enormous quantity
of stockings. Embarrassed, a sheepish Soanes explained to the store staff this was necessary for an important engineering experiment. The concept was brilliant in its
engineering simplicity. Originally patented in 1961, the concept didn't get the attention of higher ups, and by time it was developed, the original company that put out
the idea had backed out. Meanwhile, in 1960, the Montreal Stock exchange decided to move to a new location, and instead of the old manual chalkboard ticker boards,
they wanted a modernized way of displaying real-time stock action. F-P sent a team to promote their flip disc display systems in 1961. Competing with Westinghouse
at the time, F-P won out. They started the construction process, but had difficulties keeping up. It was argued the discs initially couldn't be made with a separate
rotating pin (upgraded from nylon). Acquiring their own injection mold machine, the concept was figured out, and F-P was now able to produce their own discs rather
than outsourcing. Once working, the Montreal Stock Exchange display became the showpiece for F-P's work. Soon after, display systems orders came in from
elsewhere in Canada, the United States, and later, worldwide. By 1977, it had won 50% of the world market for display systems in commodity and stock exchanges,
as well as half the world's market for highway traffic signs. Business stability was still rocky, with ups and downs in display sales flow. A strategy was adopted to
partner with others to develop the driver electronics for the displays through standardization. In 1973, Koppens Automatic in Holland approached F-P about
integrating their 7-segment displays into gas pumps. After some initial speculation and redesigns, the concept was implemented successfully, and became a strong
market. The next major application for F-P's display modules presented itself accidentally. Don Smart, a former Westinghouse employee that was hired by F-P in 1973,
and his sales agent for the area, Bill Pearson, were seeking business around Dallas, Texas. Pearson suggested contacting a friend who worked for Luminator,
which made electrical fixtures for buses. Pearson had heard that Luminator was developing a variable-destination display sign for the front of buses. Using a small
sample display they explored the possibility of integrating their display modules with Luminator's electronics. After several months of development a deal was agreed
to, and in 1974, the very first flipdot signs were installed on several buses on a trial basis. By 1977, the bus display business had become so successful it soon
surpassed those for the gas pumps. 1977 brought several other changes to the company. Identicon Corp. of Franklin, Massachusetts was acquired to expand
F-P's barcode scanning business, but was later discontinued in 1980, watt-hour meters were discontinued, their small power transformer manufacturing plant moved
to a new plant in Dunkirk, New York, and their distribution transformers were purchased by assets of B.C. Transformer Co. of Vancouver, British Columbia.

By the end of the 1970s it appeared the future of F-P's Electronics Division laid in components. They underwent a major modernization, and in 1979, moved from Toronto
into new facilities in Mississauga, Ontario to help reduce production costs. Also in 1979, Northern Engineering Industries (NEI) Ltd. based in Newcastle, England bought
all the shares of F-P from Ferranti U.K. to compliment their existing heavy power equipment presence in North America. This purchase included both F-P Transformers
Ltd. and F-P Electronics Ltd. to help them diversify. It also ended the long time partnership with Ferranti U.K. since its creation. NEI-Canada was established as a
subsidiary of NEI-Overseas Ltd. to continue operations. Steady growth of the flipdot technology continued into the 1980s mainly in European markets, while the
transformers industry suffered. In 1989, Rolls-Royce purchased all the shares of NEI. All operations remained in tact in the U.K. In Canada, where Rolls-Royce had larger
established operations, the company was reorganized into Rolls-Royce Industries Canada Inc. on January 1, 1990. It was soon determined that the display business that
was such an important part of Ferranti-Packard's Electronics Division was deemed to be outside Rolls-Royce's core business. In 1990, the division was sold to Luminator
through Dayco Products Canada Inc., a division of Mark IV Industries. Since Luminator was a major customer for their variable-message transit signs the purchase
made sense. The division continued to operate under the name "F-P Electronics" with all former managers and employees retained. Operations continued until the early
2000s, when Luminator moved production to their Plano, Texas main facility. Manufacturing of flipdot signs soon ended with the advancement of LED display technology.

Abridged history reference source: The book "Ferranti-Packard, Pioneers in Canadian Electrical Manufacturing",
Authors Norman R. Ball and John N. Vardalas, (McGill-Queen's University Press, (C)1994.
To see the various Display Panels and 7-Segment
Characters in my collection, click or tap HERE.
(Including info on Pocatec & Axion signs)
Ferranti-Packard's FP1001 Displays and Controllers Manuals.
Ferranti-Packard
(NEI / Identicon Corp.)
displays controller
Manual Rev. A
September 15, 1984
68 Page Images.
(Click or Tap this
image to visit.)
Identicon Corp.
(Ferranti-Packard
displays controller)
Manual Rev. C
November 4, 1985
Updated
75 Page Images.
(Click or Tap this
image to visit.)