Cooper, McDougall and Robertson: Difference between revisions

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of Chemical Works, Berkhamsted, Herts. Telephone: Berkhamsted 333. Cables: "Coopers, Berkhamsted". Also at Robertson Street, Glasgow. Branches: Auckland, Buenos Aires, Cali, Chicago, Johannesburg, Montevideo, Sydney.

1925 William Cooper and Nephews merged with McDougall and Robertson to form Cooper, McDougall and Robertson.

The Berkhamsted site continued to develop - the original factory location became offices, printing was carried out at "Clunbury Press" in Manor Street, and veterinary research and development took place at Berkhamsted Hill.

WWII. During the Second World War, Cooper, McDougall and Robertson produced Anti-Louse Powder - AL63. The louse had been responsible for the deaths of many men during the First World War as it caused trench fever and typhus. The remedy had to possess protective as well as killing properties and it was decided it should take the form of powder so it could be dusted into clothing. Over 100 different preparations were tried. The one chosen was the 63rd, hence the name. The active ingredient in AL63 was DDT and was used by many local people as a pesticide on their gardens and allotments. It was also during the Second World War that new synthetic insecticides appeared on the market.

1946 After the death of R. A. Cooper, it became apparent that a family businesses such as this had to expand to survive.

1947 British Industries Fair Advert: Manufacturers of products for the control of external and internal parasites of livestock. Sheep and Cattle Dips. Veterinary Remedies. Insecticides for Household and Human Use including "Gammexane" and D.D.T. Preparations, Louse Powder "A.L.63", Disinfectants and Soaps. Tar-acid Products. (Chemicals etc. Section - Olympia, Ground Floor, Stand No. A.1192) ^[1]

As a result of the synthetic insecticides, the days of the old Cooper's powder dip were numbered and production in the town finally ended in the mid 1950s.

1959 The company was acquired by the Wellcome Foundation.

Having invested in a strong research organisation, the company was able to adapt to changing conditions, and the country's first aerosol filling line was designed and installed at Berkhamsted. The first product to be filled on the line was Cooper's Fly Killer, originally known as Cooper's Household Aerosol. This was followed by several other lines.

A new company called PAFCO (Pressure Aerosols Filling Company) was set up at Berkhamsted which undertook the filling of aerosols for outside companies. In 1965, the 100 millionth aerosol was filled at Berkhamsted.

1962 the manufacture of pipeonyl butoxide was transferred to Kelvindale, Scotland and by the early 1970s only one out of the five aerosol lines was still operating.

1979 The Printing Office closed.

1984 Set up a new company, Cooper's Animal Health, by the merging the veterinary interests of the Wellcome Foundation and ICI.

Late 1980s: Cooper's Animal Health research station at Berkhamsted Hill was sold to an American animal health company.

1992 the Wellcome Foundation sold its environmental health business, including the Berkhamsted, site to the French company, Roussel Uclaf. The chemical company, Hoechst (Roussell's major shareholder) joined forces with Schering to form AgrEvo.

1995 The Berkhamsted site became part of AgrEvo UK.

1997 The site finally closed on 31 July.

Sources of Information

↑ 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 260; and p69

Archives of the British chemical industry, 1750-1914: a handlist. By Peter J. T. Morris and Colin A. Russell. Edited by John Graham Smith. 1988.

[1] 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 260; and p69

[1]

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 [[Image:Im196005PH-Cooper.jpg|thumb| May 1960.]]
 of Chemical Works, Berkhamsted, Herts. Telephone: Berkhamsted 333. Cables: "Coopers, Berkhamsted".  Also at Robertson Street, Glasgow. Branches: Auckland, Buenos Aires, Cali, Chicago, Johannesburg, Montevideo, Sydney.
-Early 1840s '''William Cooper''' (b.1814 in Clunbury, Shropshire) arrived in Berkhamsted, intending to start a new business as a veterinary surgeon. It is said that he arrived from London by cart with a black bag containing a few of his belongings and the tools of his trade such as his pestle and mortar.
-Business established.
-Scab, the scourge of sheep, had previously been treated by smears containing tar and goose-grease, tobacco stalks and brimstone. None were very successful.
-William carried out meticulous experiments between 1843 and 1852, using a combination of arsenic and sulphur to find a better treatment. He finally produced a sheep dip preparation which could be standardised in composition and quality as well as easily stored, packaged and transported.
-By 1851, he lived in a small house in the High Street where he worked on the experiments which led to the formulation of his famous sheep dip.
-'''William Cooper''' erected his first mill for the manufacture of the powder dip at Ravens Lane. The factory was extended five times during the second half of the 19th century. Horse-powered mills were used for grinding, kilns for boiling the liquor and the factory also had areas where the sulphur was 'dressed'.
-Initially, William managed all parts of the business himself.
-He was recorded as a veterinary surgeon, a chemist and a printer<ref>1861 census</ref>. But it soon became too much for him to manage by himself.
-William senior was joined by his nephew, '''William Farmer Cooper''', who initiated the firm's overseas trade.
-William senior was a manufacturing chemist, employing 14 men and 21 boys<ref>1871 census</ref>
-The company engaged its first traveller, Henry Harrowell.  The business expanded at home and abroad and offices were opened in Australasia, South Africa, and the United States in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
-Another nephew, '''Henry Herbert Cooper''' (who died in 1891, aged 31), was a solicitor, living with William Farmer Cooper. At some point he also joined the firm (1880?)
-William Cooper was a chemical manufacturer, employing 45 men and 30 boys<ref>1881 census</ref> (William Farmer Cooper was a chemical manufacturer, recorded as employing 50 men and 30 boys<ref>1881 census</ref>)
-Another nephew, '''Richard Powell Cooper''', also a veterinary surgeon, joined the firm in or after 1881 (when he was living in Lichfield<ref>1881 census</ref>).
-William Farmer Cooper died, aged 37.
-William developed his own printing works and a lithographic process which was used to produce labels which could not be easily imitated.
-The founder, '''William Cooper''', died; at the time he was a manufacturing chemist, emery grinder and printer<ref>National Probate Calendar</ref>. He was much mourned by his employees. Although stern and hot-tempered, he treated his workers fairly and many of them stayed with the company all their working lives.
-The company continued to expand after the death of William Cooper. Its travelling salesmen ensured that their powdered dip was now exported throughout the world.
-'''Richard Powell Cooper''' became the sole owner of the business following the death of his uncle. In the next 22 years, under his direction, the company went from strength to strength.
-s Another factory, the Lower Works, was built in the High Street. A piece of land at the back of this factory was used as a wharf where barges carrying sulphur, arsenic and coal were unloaded, and reloaded with cases containing packets of powdered dip which were transported by canal to the London docks.
-s New steam-powered machinery was introduced and carpenters were employed to make boxes to carry the dip.
-Richard's eldest son, '''Richard Ashmole Cooper''', became a partner in the company. One of his first acts was to encourage the installation of a revolutionary machine for wrapping and weighing the packets of dip. He was also instrumental in setting up the '''Cooper Research Laboratory''' in the office building in Ravens Lane in 1904.
-Sir Richard Powell Cooper died at Berkhamsted<ref>National Probate Calendar</ref>
-His son, Sir Richard Ashmole Cooper, took over the business, whilst also serving as a Member of Parliament.
-The business became a limited company.
-By 1925, due to poor health and an uncertain future, '''Richard Ashmole Cooper''', head of [[William Cooper and Nephews]], joined forces with '''Isaac McDougall''', Chairman of [[McDougall and Robertson]] Ltd, a business in similar line, and amalgamated the two.
 [[William Cooper and Nephews]] merged with [[McDougall and Robertson]] to form [[Cooper, McDougall and Robertson]].

Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Cooper, McDougall and Robertson: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:11, 26 February 2018

See Also

Sources of Information