Merlin Diesel Systems Ltd has been at the forefront of aftermarket diesel fuel injection for over 70 years with the development of test equipment and work benches for automotive, rail, marine, and plant applications. How did Merlin begin?
Read below to find out about the history of our company. Don’t forget to check out the video at the end…
1947
The ‘Merlin’ company was established by engineers C.T Rhodes of Halifax, specialising in diesel fuel injection, test equipment, servicing, and machinery.
1950
Fleets of Merlin Service Vehicles were introduced, making Merlin’s products and services mobile. This allowed Merlin to have a showroom on the move to exhibit and demonstrate their products and services, whilst also visiting customers all over the country.
1951
One of Merlin’s first advertisements in a newspaper appears. The advertisement showcases the ‘Merlin Fuel Injection Service Master’. This was one of the first machines on the market to enable the full service of fuel injection nozzles and needles. Later, the machine would go on to be used by all leading Diesel Engine Manufacturers, Railways, Municipal Transporter, Shipping Lines, and Government Departments of the time.
Moreover, Merlin attended their first Engineering, Marine & Welding Exhibition at Earl’s Court, London. This would begin Merlin’s frequent attendance at the show for twenty years, ranging from ‘Motor Shows’ and ‘Commercial Motor Shows’ from 1951 to 1971.
1954
Merlin exhibit at the Motor Exhibition at Earl’s Court, London on stand number 537. New vehicle models were also displayed at the show, including Morris, Singer, Bentley, and Rolls Royce. The Austin ‘Westminster A.90 Six Westminster’ motorcar was also newly introduced at the show. Correspondingly, pricing began at £588 for the standard model, and £791 for the deluxe model and featured a six-cylinder engine, replacing their earlier model of the four-cylinder ‘A.70 Hereford’.
1956
Another newspaper advertisement encourages Motor Show visitors to stop by ‘Stand 481’. This time, the stand incorporated not only the Servicemaster, but also the introduction of the ‘Calimaster’, a diesel fuel pump calibrator for servicing a complete range of pumps, including A, B, N, and Z types.
1957
Merlin exhibit at the Motor Exhibition at Earl’s Court, London, the 42nd International Motor Exhibit. This show saw the introduction of models, such as the: Aston Martin DB Mark III, Bedford Dormobile Caravan, and the Vauxhall Cresta and Velox.
1959
Merlin attended the Motor Show at Earl’s Court, London, opened by Prime Minister at the time, Harold Macmillan. Notably, the 1959 Motor Show is recognised by many as ‘one of the greatest British Motor Shows of all time’ due to the introduction of three major, innovative models: Mini, Triumph Herald, and Ford Anglia. The event amassed an attendance of 560,000, with an extra 19,707 overseas visitors!
1960
The company becomes ‘Merlin International Engineers Ltd’ to showcase global recognition for the manufacturing of test benches and accessories. The company further began catering for the testing and calibration of diesel fuel injection equipment for automotive, rail, marine, and plant purposes.
1965
Here we can see one engineer working on a Merlin NR3 Nozzle Grinder, whilst the other engineer is busy stripping down an injector. The test bench in the background is an FIP Pump Calibration Test Bench with an inline pump mounted ready for calibration.
1967
Merlin International attend the Motor Exhibition at Earl’s Court, London. This would be one of Merlin International’s last shows trading under their old logo, before a newer logo was introduced in 1969. The 1967 show saw the introduction of new car models, such as: Lotus Elan +2, GTM Coupé, Triumph Herald 13/60, Vauxhall Victor (FD), and, most notably, the Lamborghini Marzal.
1969
A new logo for Merlin International is introduced. The new logo incorporates Merlin’s original oval logo, as well as the ‘crown’ detail above to distinguish the ‘M’ for ‘Merlin’ and the ‘i’ for ‘International’. The curved ‘warp’ lettering of ‘Merlin’ can be seen in our current Merlin Diesel Systems Ltd logo we have today as an inspiration from our earlier brand imagery.
Early 1970s
More of the new Merlin test equipment and test benches are introduced, such as the pictured: Merlin S600M, Merlin Hydra CH2/20/4, Merlin Hydra Heavy Duty MK6, and the Merlin Hydra MK IV.
1973
The Motorship Magazine advertises another of Merlin International’s new products: ‘The Valvemaster’, a diesel calibration and servicing machine for the testing of valve heads up to 6” in diameter.
1975
Our equipment is put to the test! The gentleman pictured is testing a CAV hydraulic fuel pump on a Merlin test bench.
Late 1970s
More of our Merlin equipment is put to the test!
1979
Merlin exhibit their test benches at the 1979 ADS Trade Show in Las Vegas. One of the gentlemen pictured was an agent at the time for Merlin; he worked at United Diesel USA.
Early 1980s
The Merlin Test Equipment and Workshop facility allowed Merlin to share their diesel fuel technology expertise through training and provide top-of-the-range products and services to Merlin customers. The gentleman in the white coat is Trevor Deighton, one of the company’s Directors at the time.
1989
Pictured is a customer order of some Hartridge 1100 test stands ready to be shipped to Turkey. This photo was taken when MI Diesel Products (based in Chorley, Lancashire) was part of the Merlin Diesel Group. Pictured: Roland Guest, Ian Forest, and Ian Fairhurst (Budgie), who has worked for Merlin Diesel for many years.
1991
The company is purchased by current Director and Chairman, Ken Bramley, and our previous Financial Director, Jonathon Chaytor.
1993
Merlin’s Director, Ken Bramley, boards a flight to the Automechanika Frankfurt trade show, the first of many.
Mid 1990s
Further test benches and equipment are added to Merlin’s range. This varied from the Merlin DC 40, Merlin S400A to the Merlin Autolap 200. The Merlin Autolap 200 can still be purchased HERE today for marine testing.
2001
New re-branding sees the birth of ‘Merlin Diesel Systems Ltd’ we know today. The early 2000s meant the introduction of O.E repair parts, a remanufacturing workshop, filtration and tooling to complement the existing test equipment range. The new logo features a diesel injector in the ‘i’ of Merlin to display our expertise in diesel fuel injection technology. The new branding colours of the blue and green were also introduced.
2003
Merlin’s first ever webpage is launched to allow customers to view and enquire about our products and services. At the time, our newest product introduced to the market was the Merlin S300 Common Rail Test System. This can still be purchased HERE today!
2009
A new redesign of Merlin’s webpage is launched, catering to our expanded product range in diesel, filtration, and test equipment, as well as showcasing ourselves as authorised wholesale distributors for Bosch, Denso, Delphi, Mann Filter, VDO, Yanmar and Stanadyne.
2010
Merlin sees great changes. Chiefly, they move to their purpose-built facility in Preston, Lancashire, which is where Merlin HQ is today. Merlin HQ is a 25,000ft facility, making it one of the largest and most sophisticated diesel workshops in the world. The production centre has over 130 employees and houses over £20 million worth of part numbers available for next day delivery.
2015
A new webpage and a new logo are introduced for the Merlin brand. The new logo features the 2001 logo imagery. It also has a ‘warp’-style to the lettering inspired by our original logo in 1947. The new logo also features a ‘shield’-style design.
2016
Merlin exhibited their products at a multitude of trade shows this year, ranging from: Automechanika Birmingham, ADS Las Vegas, Automechanika Frankfurt, Automechanika Shanghai, Asia Pacific Maritime Tradeshow Singapore, SMM Hamburg, and Seatrade Maritime Middle East Dubai!
2017
Merlin celebrate 70 years of service! Additionally, the new Merlin branch in Harrow, London is purchased. Merlin continued to attend an array of trade shows this year, such as: Motortec Automechanika Madrid, Automechanika Dubai, ADS Riviera Cancun, Automechanika Birmingham, ReMaTec RAI Amsterdam, ADS Las Vegas, Mechanex Coventry, and Automechanika Shanghai!
Early 2018
The website was updated again. This offered more categories to refine searches, as well as support the upload of even more products and services that we offer.
Late 2018
Markedly, Merlin acquire Feather Diesel of Halifax to expand their diesel service capabilities further. Also, the development of the Merlin Diesel branch in Shanghai begins. Merlin also attended more trade shows in the year: ADS Panama, Automechanika Dubai, ADS San Diego, SMM Hamburg, Automechanika Frankfurt, Mechanex Surrey, and Automechanika Shanghai!
2019
Merlin continue their attendance at multiple tradeshows throughout the year at: ADS Australia, ADS Orlando, ReMaTec Amsterdam, Automechanika Dubai, and Automechanika Madrid. We achieved a Top 10 placing in ‘Lancashire’s Most Profitable SMEs for 2020’, published by Lancashire Business View. Also, Merlin achieved an award for placing in the Top 50 for ‘being one of the region’s fastest growing businesses.’ Later being one of the ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain 2019’ publication launched by The Telegraph and The London Stock Exchange Group!
2020
Merlin attend their last tradeshow for a while in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Merlin also achieved a Top 10 placing in ‘Lancashire’s Most Profitable SMEs for 2020’ for the second year running!
2021
Merlin Diesel attend their first tradeshow since the COVID-19 Pandemic hit – Automechanika Istanbul.
2022
Developments of a new logo and a new website begin! Also, we look forward to resuming our exhibitions at all major tradeshows this year. See you at ADS Dallas, APM Singapore, Motortec Madrid, ReMaTec Amsterdam, SMM Hamburg, Automechanika Frankfurt, Automotive Week Paris, Automechanika Dubai, and Automechanika Shanghai!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WE OFFER AT MERLIN DIESEL, PLEASE VISIT OR CONTACT:
- Website: www.merlindiesel.com
- Telephone: +44 (0) 1772 694130
- Email: [email protected]
Keywords: history, fuel injection, industry, fuel industry, Merlin Diesel Systems, tradeshows, company, exhibit, products, machinery, test equipment, test benches
