Manchester, May 05: May 4th marks the centenary of the famous Rolls-Royce brand. One hundred years ago a first historic meeting took place between Henry Royce and the Hon. Charles Rolls at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, which led to an agreement and formation of the world famous company.
Rolls-Royce has now become one of the most widely known and respected brands in the world, renowned for its cutting edge design and engineering.
Two separate companies now carry the Rolls-Royce name. Rolls-Royce Plc. is one of the world's largest aero-engine, industrial and marine companies, while Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is now part of the BMW Group.
"Well, today there is Rolls-Royce Plc., which is a big international power system company with plants in 20 countries, customers in every country in the world. And then there are two motor car brands, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, which are owned by other people who've got the resources to make very high quality motor cars. So, we've got the company in a way producing very high quality high engineering goods in all the areas it works," explained Sir Ralph Robins, retired chairman of Rolls-Royce Plc.
The celebration of the historic event took place in Manchester on Tuesday (May 4) and was hosted by both companies.
A collection of classic Rolls-Royce motor cars has joined the celebrations, as part of the Centenary World Tour - which began in New Zealand in January this year.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars presented its Rolls-Royce Centenary Phantom - one of 35 examples of this special version of the new Phantom produced to mark the occasion.
At the Geneva Motor Show in March Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled a one-off experimental motor car named 100EX - a four-seater, two door, luxury convertible.
In its centenary year, Rolls-Royce Plc is opening a new 85 million pounds ($152 million) factory in Scotland and has just announced a further 100 million ($179 million) investment in new facilities around the United Kingdom.
Bureau Report
