User:Tabletop/JMCo

James Martin and Company was an engineering company operating in South Australia. It was founded in 1848. The company had two main sites in Gawler.

Products
One main product line was argricultural machinery, while the other was railway rolling stock including locomotives.

Government
While the agricultural side of the business was purely free market, the railway side was heavily influenced by Government because of course the railways were essentially government run. As one of the major businesses in the state, the Government did try to send business the company's way.

James Martin
The company's namesake James Martin grew in statue as the company rose, and was for a time a Member of Parliament.

Administration.
By about 1907, the company was not doing so well, and its founder was dead. The company sought voluntary liquidation, which gave other interested parties to buy up its assets, whether to break it up or to keep it going as a going concern. In the event the latter happened, with the business split into in rolling stock and agricultural parts.