Birmabright

Gas welding of Birmabright is easier than that of pure aluminium and may be carried out autogenously using scraps of the same material as a filler rod.

The doors, boot lid and bonnet of most Rover P4 models were also Birmabright, however towards the end of production this was changed to steel to reduce costs.

The well known Laurent Giles designed 46ft sailboat Beyond was built of riveted sheets of Birmabright and circumnavigated in the early 1950s by Tom and Ann Worth.

The hull proved corrosion resistant but required re-riveting later due to crystallisation of the rivet heads, and lasted well until being sunk in the Caribbean as an artificial diving reef in the 1980s.

Birmetals (part of the Birmid Qualcast Group) closed its factory in 1980 after losing money in 1977-1979, followed by a protracted strike over wages by key staff which prevented production.