Brook (Electric) Motors, founded in 1904 by Ernest Brook by 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. By 1954 Brook Motors Ltd operated 10 factories in Huddersfield, its biggest being Empress Works on St Thomas's Road, and had just opened one at Barugh Green, Barnsley along with their site in Honley which sits firmly between the road to Holmfirth and the road to Brockholes. Brook Motors was one of the more enlightened employers in Huddersfield. Ernest Brook himself installed a profit-sharing scheme, and to mark the 1954 jubilee celebrations a gratuity, or independent pension, scheme was introduced. Management insisted on clean, well-lit, hygienic premises with the most up-to-date machinery.