1898 - founded by Harry Skeet Broom and Jethro Thomas Wade; made machines for furniture making; made castings for the Hyatt Roller Bearing Company ;1910 - built first compressor; 1935 - floated on stock exchange as a public company; 1968- Holman Bros Limited (of Camborne, Cornwall) and Broom & Wade merge to form International Compressed Air Corporation, later renamed CompAir; The brand-name - 'BroomWade' - continues today (2011)