Electrical component manufacturer founded in 1870 by Walter Claude Johnson and Samuel Edmund Phillips. It became a public company in 1905. The company briefly manufactured motorcycles between 1907 and 1909. It was acquired in 1964 Delta Metal Co., the switchgear interests of Delta Metal Co. were later acquired by English Electric Co. in 1967.

The Company was founded in Manchester on the 12th November 1878 under the title of The Engine and Boiler Insurance Company with RB Longridge as Chairman and Michael Longridge (his nephew) as Chief Engineer. The Longridge family were established engineers at the beginning of the 19th Century. They were originally iron masters from Bedlington, Northumberland who also supplied castings and forgings. They were involved in the early development of industrial steam engines and were business partners with both George and Robert Stephenson. RB Longridge formed The Steam Boiler Assurance Company in 1859 but later resigned. Following his resignation, he formed The Engine and Boiler Insurance Company Limited. Within two years the name of the company was altered to The Engine, Boiler and Employers' Liability Company Limited. In 1903, its silver jubilee year, the title British Engine, Boiler and Electrical Insurance Company Limited was adopted until 1978 when the title was abbreviated to British Engine Insurance Limited. The family association with the company, was terminated in 1966 with the retirement of HM Longridge. The name of Longridge was perpetuated in the title of the Head Office building in Manchester- Longridge House, erected in 1959 on a site embracing that of the original Manchester Steam Users Association of which RB Longridge was Chief Inspector. Longridge House was demolished in 1997 due to the massive structural damage it sustained following the explosion of a bomb placed in a van, by the IRA, which had been parked outside the building. The Company Number was 14644, registered at Companies House in Scotland.