The son of William Cockerill, John Cockerill helped aid in the spread of industrialization into mainland Europe building on the work of his father. Initially the Cockerill family moved to French-occupied Belgium where William Cockerill began the manufacture of cotton spinning equipment, that at the time was a closely guarded English trade secret. Following and expanding upon his father's legacy, John bought a Belgian palace in 1817 with the intention of converting it into the family's business headquarters. On this site he and his brothers augmented the equipment manufacturing plant with its own iron foundry and machine factory, something that was unheard of outside of Britain in that time.
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