London - Vanden Plas Company

Vanden Plas began in 1870 in Brussels as Carrosserie Van den Plas, initially making axles, later producing horse-drawn carriages. It was founded by Guillaume van den Plas, a blacksmith, and his three sons, who later set up a branch in Paris. In 1884 they moved from Brussels to Antwerp. With increased business they opened a branch in Brussels again in 1890. By 1908 Vanden Plas had a workforce of 400 men producing 300 special bodies a year and this soon increased to over 750.

The coachbuilder's name first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1906 when Métallurgique cars were imported with Vanden Plas coachwork. The first Vanden Plas company in England was established by Warwick Wright in 1913, building bodies under license from Vanden Plas Belgium.

Alphonse de Ridder, a Belgian refugee who lived for a short time in Badsey, gained employment with the company in February 1915.  At that stage they were making motor vehicles for the Belgian army.  Later in the war, however, UK activities were switched to aircraft production and the UK business was bought by Aircraft Manufacturing Company who were based at Hendon.