huddersfield is a manufacturing town, despite the university being the largest employer. historically the town produced woollen textiles. this area of business, along with the chemical and engineering industries that emerged to support the manufacture of textiles, was the basis of the town's nineteenth and early twentieth century prosperity. the number of people who work in textiles has declined greatly, but the surviving companies produce large quantities of woollen products with little labour. the town is home to textile, chemical and engineering companies, including brook motors ltd founded by ernest brook in 1904. against conventional wisdom, he started making alternating current electric motors, and he did this in one room with two assistants and starting capital of just £300. on its 50th anniversary in 1954 it employed more than 2,000 people and, with ernest's sons frank and jack in charge, was the largest exclusive producer of ac motors in the world, and had a turnover of £4,500,000. that same year brook motors ltd operated 10 factories in huddersfield, its biggest being empress works on st thomas's road, and opened one at barugh green, barnsley. other local manufacturers are cummins turbo technologies, founded in 1952 as holset by messrs. holmes and croset. (turbochargers), david brown gear systems (industrial gearing), huddersfield fine worsteds (textiles), taylor & lodge (textiles), c & j antich (textiles), syngenta ag (agro-chemicals), pennine radio limited (electronics transformers and sheet metalworking) and a large number of niche manufacturers, such as dual seal glass (maker of spandrel glass panels) and ellis furniture (producer of kitchen and bathroom furniture). huddersfield is home to andrew jones pies, a regional award-winning pie-maker, and mamas and papas, a manufacturer and retailer of prams, pushchairs and related items and specialist pneumatics supplier shelley automation ltd.