Petters Ltd

Petters Limited (known as JB Petter & Sons of Yeovil until 1910), were a maker of stationary petrol and diesel engines from 1896 onwards. In 1915 Petter founded Westland Aircraft Works (renamed "Westland Aircraft" in 1935). In 1986 Petters Limited merged with one-time rival R A Lister and Company to form Lister Petter.

James Bazeley Petter, an agricultural engineer and iron founder, had premises in the Borough, Yeovil. It was there that Ernest and Percival, his twin sons, designed and built a self-propelled oil engine in 1892. Three years later they designed the first internal combustion engined motor car to be made in the United Kingdom. The car, using a converted four-wheel horse-drawn phaeton and a 3 hp (2 kW) twin-cylinder horizontal oil engine, had a top speed of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h). The vehicle was constructed at the Park Road carriage works of Hill and Boll. It weighed 9 cwt (457 kg) including the 120 lb (55 kg) of the Petter engine with its flywheel and side bars.

A contemporary report said:

The twins continued to develop vehicles, the twelfth of which they entered to a competition at Crystal Palace in 1897, without success.

Failing to achieve the commercial success that they hoped, they adapted the engines for agricultural and industrial use. In 1902 they produced the first agricultural tractor, powered by a 30-horsepower (22 kW) horizontal oil engine.

The first engines made by Petter were Petter Standard oil engines which were horizontal open crank engines made to very high standards.

With commercial production under way, the family launched a private company called J. B. Petter & Co. Ltd. in 1902.

Around 1903 cheap American imports, including the "Jack of all Trades" manufactured by the Fairbanks Morse Company, threatened the English stationary engine industry, and unlike most companies at the time Petter decided to produce a cheaper engine of their own to combat the threat. This engine was called the Petter Handyman which was sold around 20% lower in price than the 'Petter Standard' and was sold in batches of 50 or more.

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