Calico Printers Association
of St James's Buildings, Oxford Street, Manchester, 1. Telephone: Manchester, Central 4444. Cables: "Print, Manchester". London Office: 67-9 Watling Street, Telephone: City 1664
1899 The Calico Printers' Association Ltd (CPA) was formed by the amalgamation of 46 printing concerns and 13 merchanting concerns, some with weaving and spinning interests, the total number of vendors being 128. The company was registered on 8 November, for the purpose of acquiring and amalgamating various companies and firms engaged in the calico printing industry and further businesses have since been acquired. [1][2] See 1899 Members
1940 A new polymer fibre, Terylene, was discovered by Mr. J. R. Whinfield, assisted by Dr. J. T. Dickson, both of the Calico Printers Association. Large scale manufacture was subsequently taken up by Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd.[3]
1947 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Commission Printers, Dyers, Finishes of all types of Fabrics for Home Trade and Export Markets. Designs and Colourings available for every Printing Requirement. (Earls Court, Ground Floor, Stand No. 121) [4]
By the 1950s and as a consequence of subsequent additions and developments in the UK and overseas, CPA's interests included the spinning, weaving, merchanting, finishing, making-up, and wholesale and retail distribution of textiles, textile engineering, and the manufacture and distribution of chemicals. In the United Kingdom CPA is concerned mainly with commission printing but it possesses an important merchanting organisation as well as spinning and weaving mills.
1950 The CPA was one of the largest merchant-converters of printed cloth in the country and sold nearly 37 million yards in 1950.
1965 Formed a menswear division around its new acquisition Rael-Brook[5]
1968 English Sewing Cotton Co merged with the Calico Printers Association to form English Calico Ltd.
1982 Tootal became a public limited company - Tootal Group plc
1989 merger to become part of Coats Viyella plc, a successor company of J. and P. Coats, cotton thread manufacturers, Paisley, Scotland.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [2] Competition Commission