With a wealth of mineral resources in the countryside surrounding the city, Derby was one of the key centers of the industrial revolution and quickly became a famous center for “heavy engineering”. As the railways expanded and developed in the 19th century, so did the city’s engineering firms, which quickly adapted to the manufacture of steam engines, railcars, railcars, and permanent track systems. With the advent of air flight in the 20th century, the engineering company Rolls Royce turned its attention to the manufacture of aircraft engines and quickly established itself as a world leader in that business. The tradition of developing engineering business in Derby has continued into the 21st century with automaker Toyota building a nearby plant in the 1990s.

Together with Doncaster and Crewe, Derby has maintained and developed its involvement and connections with the rail industry. Derby was for many decades the location of British Rail Research and Development, prior to the privatization programs of the 1990s. Now several of the UK’s leading private companies building and servicing the country’s rail vehicles and infrastructure They are based in Derby. The Canadian company Bombardier, based on Litchurch Lane in Derby, is the last major train manufacturing company in Britain and has built a significant proportion of the diesel and electric multi-unit trains running in the country. They also have extensive contracts to build trains for the London Underground. With offices across the UK, Atkins Rail has its Derby office at Brunel House, in the former Railway Technology Center business park, off London Road. It has contracts to supply energy systems and track maintenance, and is a key player in maintaining the efficiency of the UK rail system. Another large Derby-based company is Balfour Beatty, whose office is on Nelson Street in the city center, specializing in the development of signaling and telecommunications systems for railways. Originally part of AEA Technology until it was sold to the venture capital group ‘Vision Capital’ in 2006, DeltaRail specializes in offering consulting and advisory services to the rail industry.

Founded in 1906 and originally marketed in London, Rolls Royce opened its first automobile engine manufacturing plant in Derby, Osmaston, in 1908. It was around this time that Charles Rolls began to become fascinated, if not obsessed with, new technology. of air flight. . In 1910 he became the first person to double-cross the English Channel in a plane and also, unfortunately, he became the first Englishman to die in a plane crash that same year. Henry Royce, who had always considered himself an engineer, went on to design his first airplane engine, the Eagle, in 1914. This was widely used during WWI, but it was the Merlin engine that he designed, that was used in the airplane. Spitfire. World War II, which sealed the company’s fame in the aviation industry. Now replaced by the Trent family of engines, the mainstay of Rolls Royce’s production in Derby for many years was its RB211 engine, which powered many of the world’s airlines. Rolls Royce, which currently employs some 11,000 people in Derby at eight locations, also manufactures a range of marine propulsion units including nuclear reactors and turbo generators for the Royal Navy. The production of Rolls Royce automobile engines continued in Derby until the time of World War II, when it was transferred to Cheshire. Some 50 years after production of Rolls Royce car engines ceased in Derby, another car manufacturing company bought a site on the outskirts of Derby to build a new plant. Toyota Motor Corporation started production at its Burnaston plant in 1992 and currently employs more than 3,000 people.

Off Osmaston Road in Derby is the Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company. With a history dating back to 1750, the factory on this site was opened in 1878 and the company earned its ‘Royal’ designation in 1898. Although a private company employing some 300 people, it produces English fine china tableware and gifts. . The Royal Crown Derby is considered by some to be second only to Dresden Fine Bone China products. Denby pottery, based in Denby in Derbyshire, is another company that produces ceramic tableware and gifts in the area. Another company, known for a different type of gift, is Thornton’s. Originally founded by Joseph William Thornton in Sheffield in 1911, it is one of the country’s favorite chocolatiers and is based on the outskirts of the city in Alfreton.

Derby has also embraced new businesses and technologies. The online banking company, Egg, has offices in Pride Park in Derby. In the wake of the tourist industry that is drawn to the countryside around the city, a burgeoning media industry emerges. Some 30 media companies are now based in Derby and host TV dramas and movies like; Peak Practice, Elizabeth and Sons & Lovers. The creators of the “Lara Croft – Tomb Raider” computer game are a Derby-based computer animation company called Core Design which, despite being acquired by the Eidos group, still works from its Derby base in Pride Park.