Musical and Plastic Industries
1958 W. Abbott and Sons Ltd, maker of musical instruments, acquired Thames Valley Moulders Ltd; the name of the group was changed to Musical and Plastic Industries[1]
1958 Demand for Gala records had far exceeded supply[2]
1964 Proposed merger of Musical and Plastic Industries (MPI), whose main product was the Beatle guitar, with Empire Rib, an umbrella manufacturer, and F. H. Tomkins by exchange of one share of MPI for one share of each of the other 2 companies; Mr Denis Royston, chairman of Empire Rib was also a director of F. H. Tomkins and, with another individual, owned 37.5% of MPI[3] but the merger did not proceed.
c.1974 Name changed to MPI
1974 Bid for Ingall Industries, a light engineering, funeral furnishing and timber merchanting group; MPI also acquired 3 funeral parlours[4]
1977 Acquired Forward Technology Trust[5]
1979 Name changed to Forward Technology Industries Ltd