Voigt Patents Limited 1933 - 1950

occupation:
Designer
Nationality:
British
born in:
Sydenham, Bromley, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

Voigt Patents Limited was established by Paul Voight, a previous employee at Edison Bell, in 1933. Voight was an imaginative inventor and, while at Edison Bell, had an unusual agreement that allowed him to retain ownership of 19 patents of his designs. When Edison Bell collapsed in 1933, Voigt took these patents and established Voigt Patents Limited.

While working in this company, he was granted another 13 patents for his desgins. His microphones were used by the BBC in their newly built Broadcasting House, but his most enduring work was on loudspeakers with his development of the 'tractrix' contour for horns.

The Second World War, however, made things difficult for the company. Due to Voigt's German origins, he could not contribute to any of the government's research programmes, and he was faced with restrictions when testing his loudspeakers out of fear they could cause confusion with air raid sirens. This difficulty continued after the war with continuing racial abuse, the scarcity of materials meaning he could not develop his inventions, and the bankrupt nation not being able to afford his products. After he hurt his back which also could not be cured in England, he decided it was time to end the business and try his luck in Canada. So, in 1950, he sold Voigt Patents Limited to his friend, O. P. Lowther of Lowther Manufacturing Company. Lowther still continues today and acknowledges Voigt's significance to the history of their company.