Business strategy for bearings, technical liaison, and the balance between development and research.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 115\5\ scan0111 | |
| Date | 14th September 1938 | |
| -2- J.W. Howlett, Esq. 14.9.38. (2) Someone has got to draw the line as to firms who are worth bothering with at this stage of the proceedings, and firms who will take up a great deal of time, and even if the bearing is successful in their application the minimum advantage either from production orders or advertisement will eventuate. As an example, we suggest that it is ridiculous to bother with Alta's when we are not working with Crossleys. Personally, I feel that with regard to the racing car side, it is injudicious at the moment to have anything to do with anyone except E.R.As who are using the bearing successfully without giving us any bother. (3) The question of our Technical Liason also requires ventilating as to whether we are doing this satisfactorily, or not. As far as we know at present no technical problem relating to bearings has been submitted to us so far to which we have not given adequate attention; on the other hand, you may feel that this is not so. My opinion is that the problem of engine design is so intimately connected with that of bearings that a very responsible individual is required to deal with the problem in the first place, and to effect a solution the whole machinery of the Technical Dept. is very often called in. When this happens it is likely to interfere with the work of the department as a whole unless the number of cases to be dealt with is very definitely limited. (4) The other point that arises is the work we are at present doing in this Department, which is being undertaken purely as development work on the alloy for applications other than our own. By this I mean that, at present, we have worked out our own production problems, and are satisfied that we can take care of our requirements for the next three or four years without spending money on research. Really, therefore, if research work is to be carried out on a proper | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).