Merz & McLellan
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Merz and McLellan was a leading British electrical engineering consultancy based in Newcastle.
| Industry | Electrical engineering consultants |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1902 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Parsons Brinckerhoff |
| Headquarters | Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Key people | Malcolm Kennedy (Chairman)[1] |
History
The firm was founded by Charles Merz and William McLellan in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1902 when McLellan joined Merz's existing firm established in 1899.[2] The partnership was instrumental in designing the United Kingdom's first three-phase electrical supply network, on Tyneside[2] and, for the next century, continued to advise other Commonwealth countries on setting up their own networks.
In the early 1960s, Merz & McLellan started a scheme in the interest of reclaiming land owned by the London Brick Company in Peterborough; James Price took up the position of senior resident engineer. That became known as the "Peterborough Dust Disposal Scheme".[citation needed]
In 1995, the partnership merged with the Parsons Brinckerhoff consultancy and, in 2000, the new owners announced that the Merz & McLellan name would be discontinued.[3]
In 2010, Mott MacDonald consultancy announced[4] that it had bought Merz and McLellan South Africa.[5]
Selected contracts
- 1901: Neptune Bank Power Station
- 1904: Carville Power Station, Wallsend, UK
- 1908 & 1912: Electrification of Melbourne suburban railways in Victoria, Australia.[6]
- 1911: Electrification of North Eastern Railway (UK)
- 1914-18: Mobile power stations for the battlefield[7]
- 1921: North Tees Power Station
- 1925: Report on electrification of the New Zealand suburban systems in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.[8] (including the Lyttelton railway line between Lyttelton and Christchurch[9]
- 1933-51: Dunston B power station, Dunston, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK
- 1940s: Orlando Power Station, Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1950s: Kariba South dam power generators
- 1950s: Wairakei Power Station Geothermal Power Station, New Zealand
- 1953: Blyth A Power Station, Cambois, Northumberland, UK
- 1960s: Bell Bay Power Station, Tasmania, Australia
- 1962: Blyth B Power Station
- 1967–76: Cerros Colorados Complex Plant Transmission System, Argentina
- 1969: Longannet Power Station
- 1980–1993: Kariba South dam hydroelectric upgrade
- 1989: Subiya oil-fired power station, Kuwait