118 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



f January i, 1903. 



3, where a motor, made by the General Electric Co. (Schenec- 

 tady, New York), of type GE-53, is connected by gearing to 

 the calendar and the speed varied by a controller shown in the 

 background. The operation of this calender driven by an 

 electric motor is the same as the operation of an electric car, 

 and the calender man can control the speed of his machine 

 exactly the same and within the same limits as the motorman 

 controls the car; in fact the controller shown within this ma- 

 chine is the familiar form of street car controller. 



RUBBER NOTES FROM EUROPE. 



HERR L. OTTO P. MEYER, on December 11, at Dres- 

 den, celebrated his eightieth birthday, his friends being 

 able to congratulate him upon his remarkable health for a man 

 of his age. Herr Meyer was a brother of H. C. Meyer, Jr., the 

 founder of the hard rubber industry in Germany, and was con- 

 cerned in an important way with the development of the in- 

 dustry at College Point, near New York, by Poppenhusen & 

 Meyer, after which he went to Diesden in the capacity of 

 United States consul and has since made his home there. 



= On December 4 was celebrated the twenty filth anniversary 

 of the firm of Reinhardt Leup<ih, Gummiwerk, of Dresden. 

 Their business was established on a small scale by Heir Leu- 

 polt in 1877, trading in technical rubber goods. In 1S83, the 

 business having grown to require larger qiarters, the present 

 location was chosen, Wettinnerstasse, 26. In 1899 it was de- 

 cided to begin the manufacture of goods and on January i, 1900. 

 their factory was opened at Chemnitz. At the beginning the 

 factory made a specialty of rubber hat bags— forms for straw 

 and felt hats — in which they speedily built up an important 

 trade, including a good export to Austria, Italy, Russia, and 

 elsewhere. Later was added the manufacture of rubber hose 

 and wringer rolls, and finally a third department, devoted to the 

 manufacture of surgical goods (druggists' sundries). Herr 

 Leupolt, the founder of the business, died August 29, 1901. 



=J. Schnurmann, dealer in waste India-rubber (London), 

 advises The India Rubber World of the removal of his 

 offices from 142, Wool Exchange, and his warehouses from 

 Eagle Wharf, all to Downham Mills, 27-29, Downham road, 

 London, N., where they will be united under one roof, and oc- 

 cupy about 25.000 square feet of space. The increased size of 

 the new premises will enable Mr. Schnurman's trade to be en- 

 larged, and more attention to be given to the American trade. 



= The Hannoversche Gummiwaaren- und Balata-Treibrie- 

 men-Fabrik, Adolf Prestieu, has established a branch in Ham- 

 burg, at Mattenwiete, 5-7, in charge of Friedr. C. Held. 



= The liquidation has been completed of the Hannoversche 

 Caoutchouc-, Guttapercha-, und Telegraphen-Werke. Nothing 

 was left for the shareholders. The three principal creditors ex- 

 pressed their willingness to assume the loss suffered by the 

 other creditors. 



= An acetylene gas plant has been installed in the factory of 

 the Vereinigte Berlin-Frankfurter Gummiwaaren-Fabriken, at 

 Gelnhausen. 



I.EYLAND AND BIRMINGHAM RUBBER CO., LIMITED. 

 At the annual meeting of shareholders at Leyland the chair- 

 man, in discussing the financial statement [summarized in a 

 late India Rubber World], said that it might be thought 

 that the profits for the last business year would justify a larger 

 dividend than T%. per cent. But the directors preferred to go 

 on adding to their facilities, for the company had had to re- 

 fuse orders on account of the premises not being as they should 

 be; besides, it was desirable to have plenty of cash assets, so as 

 to command a buying position in the market. During the year 



their plant had been appraised by a firm of valuers at a higher 

 figure than stood on the company's books, by several thousand 

 pounds. The number of employes was 175 greater than at the 

 same time last year. The prospects for trade were bright, 

 owing to the ending of the war in South Africa and the open- 

 ing up of new markets. The cycle trade was improving, and 

 the company hoped to benefit from the early expiration of the 

 Dunlop patents, when the tire trade would be open to the 

 world. 



THE SILVERTOWN COMPANY'S REPORT. 

 At the thirty-ninth annual meeting of the shareholders of 

 the India Rubber, Gutta Percha, and Telegraph Works Co., 

 Limited, in London, on December 16, the directors reported a 

 net profit for the year ended September 30 of ;£57.554 3^. \d., 

 against ^{^56,057 is. '^d. for the preceding year. The usual divi- 

 dend of 10 per cent, was paid for the year, in addition to 4 per 

 cent, on the debentures. The company completed during the 

 year the San Francisco-Sandwich Islands cable, which was de- 

 spatched from London on September 20, and were employed 

 on numerous smaller orders for cable work. The general busi- 

 ness showed some falling ofl, which is stated to have been due 

 to a lowering of selling prices, the quantity of goods being about 

 the same for the two years. The amount carried over is ^62.- 

 362, against ;£54,8o8 last year. 



ENGLISH TIRE COMPANIES. 



At the annual meeting of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. 

 Limited, on December 10, the directors presented a report show- 

 ing a profit for the year ended September 30 of ;£i86,5S9. They 

 recommended a total dividend for the year on the preference 

 shares of 10 per cent., amounting to ^4;.75o, and on the or- 

 dinary shares of 5 per cent., amounting to ;£49.999. After 

 paying interest on debentures and writing ofT ^45.371 on pat- 

 ents, a balance of ^177,922 remained to be carried over, 

 against ^£178, 580 brought forward on September 30, 1901. The 

 total profits which accrued in the subsidiary companies to 

 the end of the year amounted to ^146,099, of which sum only 

 £34,000 had been taken account of in the balance sheet, the 

 remainder being left in those companies to provide them with 

 ample working capital. The report states that the new patent 

 processes adopted by the company have proved eminently 

 successful, and marked an important advance in the tire 

 manufacture. 



At the eighth annual meeting of the Palmer Tyre Co., Lim- 

 ited, on December i, a profit for the year was reported of £(1,- 

 971 and a dividend was declared making a total for the year of 

 20 per cent., or £1^,(100. This was made possible by the very 

 large reserve fund, which the board no longer saw a reason for 

 maintaining. Trade prospects were reported good, but prices 

 during the coming year will be slightly reduced. The board 

 believe, however, that the sales will increase enough to bring 

 in as large, if not a larger, net income than before. 



At the annual meeting of the New Grappler Tyre Co., Lim- 

 ited, in Dublin, on November 20, it was resolved to supply the 

 additional capital asked for by the directors by the shareholders 

 subscribing £5,875 for the Balance of the debenture issue or- 

 dered last year. The company under its new management had 

 worked without sufficient working capital, but during three 

 years had paid in royalties on cycle tires enough to have 

 yielded 10 per cent, each year on the company's ordinary 

 shares. Although the Dunlop patent expires in 1904, bringing 

 an end to the payment of royalties, the Grappler motor tire 

 patent has about six years yet to run, and the company have 

 had a good demand for motor tires, including that though an 

 agency lately opened in France. 



