|
Ian runs a medium sized sub-contractor business called Luxcrete which is based on the Park Royal Industrial Estate north-west London. He joined the company, after having experienced life for a short while in retail, and learnt the business from the factory floor, until appointed Managing Director in 1982.
He is passionate and understandably proud of the company's history which can be traced back more than 100 years. Today, Luxcrete is known for its pavement lights, cell windows and glass block walling, but the product we see today first started its life as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries when conically shaped glasses were used to redirect light into sailing ships. This principle was used by a British inventor, James Pennycuik, who filed a patent in 1882 in the U.S.A. for glass with prismatic ridges. It was said that these could 'double the quantity of reflection or illumination of the plain window glass', allowing good diffused and shadow-less natural light into the dark Victorian basements.
In 1897 Luxfer was established (the Latin for 'Lux' means light and 'ferre' means 'to carry') and one of its employees, Olin.H. Basquin, developed the principle by establishing the brightness of the Chicago sky for calculations to design prism (similar to designing spectacle lenses). Basquin is still credited with being the first person to record daylight measurements scientifically. The Luxfer British Prism Syndicate was then established under licence in 1898 and began manufacturing pavement lights for installation into the public footpath. You can see these pavement lights today throughout the streets of London.
Ian has records and documents from the early days of Luxfer and they often prove a useful tool when the need arises. Luxcrete's history started when his father, Cyril Edwards, joined Luxfer as a glass artist in the early 1920's. At about the same time a product designer for glass prisms was also hired and his name was Frank Lloyd Wright. Luxcrete has been involved in projects throughout London including Lloyds, Canary Wharf, Broadgate and the Gherkin and with diversity as wide as Parkhurst and Wormwood Scrubs prisons to Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster.
Ian has been married to Rosemary since 1979 and they have two children, Nick and Sarah. He loves rugby and cricket and is a member of the MCC. He also plays in goal for a local hockey club veterans' team, but admits that he doesn't move as quickly as he used to. He is Honorary Secretary to the Liveryman's Committee and a luncheon club member. He is also a Liveryman of the Glaziers and Painters of Glass Company and a Freeman of the City of London.
|
