Established in 1913 (capital £15,000), this firm involved James Dixon & Sons, Walker & Hall, William Hutton & Sons, and Barker Bros (Birmingham).  They licensed the American Wilzin process, in which spoons and forks were pressed into shape under heavy dies.  Herbert Hutton Jun. and his brother Robert S. Hutton had a major share in the company – though Wm. Hutton’s share was small, and Sheffield Flatware was separate from West Street Works.  It was based in Solly Street, where plant was designed to manufacture two tons of spoons and forks a week.  However, the technology was untried and needed improvement and research (Hutton, 1956¹) – problems also encountered by Sheffield Silver Plate & Cutlery Co.  The 500-ton presses soon had to be turned over to the wartime manufacture of forged shell heads and steel base plates.  By 1917, Robert S. Hutton had become absorbed by motion studies and operational works research.  In 1923, Herbert Hutton Jun. resigned, because of family rivalries and the firm’s poor performance, and this led to the factory’s liquidation.

^1. Hutton, R S, ‘Notes on the History of William Hutton & Son’ (1956), typescript in Sheffield City Library Local Studies