Erinoid
of Lightpill Mills, Stroud, Gloucs.[1] London Office at Regent Street, W1. Birmingham Office at Coleshill Street. (1922)
Commenced as Syrolit
1909 Casein plastics, derived from milk, were developed by Erinoid[2].
1914 Erinoid Ltd of Rodborough, was established at Lightpill Mill, near Stroud. The firm manufactured plastic using casein, a substance derived from milk by a patented dry process.
The factory quickly became the main source of casein plastic in the UK, producing at least 5 tons a week at the start of the First World War.
1922 British Industries Fair Advert (double page) for Erinoid - The New British Insulating Material. A Non-Inflammable Substitute for: Celluloid; Bone; Amber; Ebonite; Horn; Coral; Fibre; Ivory; Jet; Vulcanite; Tortoiseshell; Turquoise. Ideal for Turning and admirably suitable for: Electrical Fittings and Accessories; Buttons, Beads, Combs and Hair Ornaments; Cigarette Holders; Knife Handles; Pencils and Penholders; Hat Pins; Umbrella and Stick Handles; Organ Stops; Piano Keys, etc. (Stand No. K.51) [3]
The business continued to expand rapidly, and employed over 500 people by 1933.
1947 British Industries Fair Advert as Manufacturers of Modern Plastics Materials: Casein; Cellulose Acetate; Vinyl Plastics; Polystyrene; Oil Soluble Synthetic Resins. (Plastics Section - Earls Court, 1st Floor, Stand No. 808) [4]
1959 Shell Chemical Co terminated their agency agreement with Erinoid, a subsidiary of O. and M. Kleemann, who had been selling polystyrene manufactured by Shell's subsidiary Styrene Products[5]
1961 For some years had a joint interest with Hercules Powder Co and James Nelson Ltd in Nelsons Acetate Ltd and Nelsons Lancashire Estate Co. Sold its interest to its partners.[6]
1962 The parent company was renamed Mobil Chemicals
1964 Part of Mobil Chemicals[7]
1965 BP acquired the plastics interests of Mobil Chemicals in the UK, including factories at Stroud and Wokingham[8]
By 1969 was part of the BP Plastic department of BP Chemicals[9]
In 1973, when 700 people were employed, the factory also made polystyrene and articles in thermo-plastic materials for use in the electrical and building industries.
The Stroud-based factory remained the major producer of casein plastic right up to the 1980s, when it ceased manufacture faced with a dwindling market.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ "British Plastics" Vol.1 No.1 June 1929
- ↑ History of Plastics[1]
- ↑ 1922 British Industries Fair Adverts lxxvi and lxxvii; and p26
- ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 383; and p97
- ↑ The Times Dec. 1, 1959
- ↑ The Times Apr. 24, 1961
- ↑ Gloucester Citizen 07 December 1964
- ↑ The Times Aug. 18, 1965
- ↑ The Times May 20, 1969
- [2] Gloucestershire County Council
[3] Science Museum Collections