ferranti-packard ltd. was the canadian division of ferranti's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of ferranti electric and packard electric. for several years in the post-war era, the company underwent dramatic expansion and repeatedly almost became a major computer supplier, but eventually shed various divisions and returned to becoming an electrical grid supplier once again. the company was purchased in 1998 by the austrian company, va tech. on july 23, 2005 siemens ptd purchased va tech’s transmission and distribution division (t&d) group for transformers and switchgear.