| Admin/Biograhical History | Baker Perkins is probably best known for manufacturing a complete range of machinery and ovens for making bread, biscuits, sugar confectionery, chocolate, cereals and snack foods. Over the years it has also been involved in the manufacture of machinery for laundry, chemical, rubber, soap and allied industries, and also the printing industry.
The origins of Baker Perkins Ltd stem mainly from American Jacob Perkins who was born in 1766 and died in 1849, and Canadian Joseph Baker, who was born in 1823 and died in 1892.
Jacob Perkins founded Perkins and Co., Engineers in London, which was later continued by his son, and became known as A M Perkins & Son Ltd, incorporated in 1887. A company called Werner & Pfleiderer which were originally established in Stuttgart, Germany, also set up in London in 1885. In 1893 A M Perkins & Son Ltd amalgamated with Werner & Pfleiderer (London) and became Werner, Pfleiderer & Perkins Ltd.
In January 1870, Joseph Baker took out a patent for the flour sifter he had invented in Canada and later came to London where, in 1876 a business was established with his sons. In 1902 the company was incorporated as Joseph Baker & Sons Ltd.
Meanwhile, Werner, Pfleiderer and Perkins Ltd had moved their works to Peterborough, in 1904, and changed the company name to Perkins Engineers Ltd, in 1915. After working closely with Joseph Baker & Sons during the war years, the two companies merged in 1920 and became Joseph Baker Sons & Perkins Ltd. At this time they had factories at both Willesden (Baker) and Peterborough (Perkins).
In 1923 the company changed its name to Baker Perkins Ltd, and a decade later in 1933 the Willesden factory moved to Peterborough where the entire production was then concentrated. Peterborough was also the HQ of the worldwide BP group.
In 1987 due to another merger, the company name was changed to APV Baker. The printing machinery business and the Westfield Road site were sold to the Rockwell Corporation in 1989, and the works remained there until 1991 when the production and staff of the food machinery business were relocated to the new site in Paston, Peterborough. The printing machinery business remained at Westfield Road for another 18 months, the last printing press being completed at the end of 1992 when the site was finally closed down.
After further name changes in the late 1990s, APV Baker became part of the Invensys group. On 1 April 2006 Invensys sold the company to private investors, and the name was changed back to Baker Perkins Ltd. On 13 November 2020 the company was sold to the Schenck Process Group, still retaining the Baker Perkins name.
For more detailed information, see 'The History of Baker Perkins' by A Muir (1968) available within the Local Studies Collection at Peterborough Central Library.
'A Synopsis of the History of Baker Perkins and of the Company's activities during the period 1939-1945' by A I Baker (1946) is available within this collection at PAS/BP/7/16/1.
For further information relating to the different departments within the company, see online at www.westwoodworks.net and www.bphs.net
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