Lever Sales of Port Sunlight, Cheshire. Telephone: Rock Ferry 2000. Cables: Selever, Portsunlight". (1947)
- 1885 The company was founded by James and William Hesketh Lever. They bought a small soap works in Warrington. Using glycerin and vegetable oils such as palm oil, rather than tallow, to manufacture soap, they produced a good, free-lathering soap, called "Sunlight Soap". The soaps were made from a mixture of coconut or palm kernel oil, cottonseed oil, resin and tallow.
- By 1888, they were producing at a rate of 450 tons per week. Larger premises were built on marshes at Bromborough Pool on the Wirral Peninsula at what became "Port Sunlight".
- 1891 For description of works see 1891 The Practical Engineer.
- 1894 The company was registered on 21 June, to take over the business of soap manufacturers of a private limited company of the same name. [1]
- 1899 The business of Benjamin Brooke and Co was acquired, and subsequently the company took over the Vinolia Co and Hodgson and Simpson.
- Lever Brothers was one of several British companies that took a caring, paternalistic interest in the welfare of its employees. This was a major feature of the company's operations right from the start; the model village of Port Sunlight was developed between 1888 and 1914 adjoining the soap factory to accommodate the company's staff in good quality housing, with high architectural standards and many community facilities.
- By 1900, Lifebuoy, Lux and Vim brands had been added and subsidiaries had been set up in the United States, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Germany and elsewhere.
- By 1911 the company had its own oil palm plantations in the Congo and the Solomon Islands. Lever Brothers Ltd also acquired other soap companies including A. and F. Pears, Gossage of Widnes, Crosfield's of Warrington, Hazlehurst and Sons of Runcorn and Hudson's of Liverpool.
- 1925 Lord Leverhulme, as William Lever had become, died.
- The company grew and operated until 1930, when it merged with a Dutch company, Margarine Unie, to form Unilever, the first modern multinational company. The Lever Brothers name was kept for a time as an imprint, as well as the name of the US subsidiary, Lever Brothers Company, and a Canadian subsidiary, Lever Brothers Ltd.
- 1947 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair - for Lever Sales. Selling Agents for "Lux" Washability Bureau Service to the Textile Trade. Wash-testing and certifying of exhibitor's Fabrics Demonstrated. Full and Expert Advice may be obtained on all aspects of washability and serviceability. (Earls Court, Ground Floor, Stand No. 111) [2]
- 2005 Unilever as the business is now known has an annual turnover of £26 billion.
See Also
- [1] Wikipedia
- Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908
- ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair p166