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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February i, 1902. 



RUBBER NOTES FROM EUROPE. 



AT the annual meeting of the India Rubber, Gutta Percha 

 and Telegraph Works Co., Limited (London), Decem- 

 ber 17, it was stated that the total of the trading had been 

 only slighter than for the previous year. The profit had not 

 been so large, though the board felt that they had no great 

 reason to complain. The always increasing competition in 

 the various lines of manufacture in which the company was 

 engaged called for the adoption of the best existing machinery 

 and conveniences, and the company's works were continually 

 undergoing alteration, by which means it was hoped to main- 

 tain the reputation which the company enjoyed for the excel- 

 lence of its manufacture. 



= At the above meeting reference was made to the death^ 

 which occurred on December 16, of Mr. Matthew Gray, who 

 for many years was managing director of the Silvertown com- 

 pany. Born at Lanark, Scotland, in 1821, Matthew Gray served 

 an apprenticeship in an engineering works at Glasgow, and at 

 the age of 19 he went to London to study marine engineering. 

 Later he became manager of a cotton factory in Glasgow and 

 made many important inventions. He was interested in the 

 laying of the first submarine cable in South American waters, 

 in 1866, in January i of which year he became managing direc- 

 tor at Silvertown — a position which he retained until his re- 

 cent retirement on account of age. He manifested a marked 

 degree of ability, which contributed largely to the growth of 

 this important establishment. The directors of the company 

 passed a vote of condolence to the family of Mr. Gray. 



=James McKinlay, of the buying department of the India 

 Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Co., Limited (Sil- 

 vertown, London), died recently, in his seventy-fourth year. It 

 is stated that for 34 years, the millions of money spent by this 

 company in wages and for raw material had passed through 

 his hands or been disbursed under his supervision. 



= Michelin & Cie., leading rubber manufacturers in France, 

 have established a branch house at Manheim, for the sale of 

 their goods in Germany, of which Edouard Etienne Michelin 

 IS manager. The house of Michelin, with factories at Cler- 

 mont-Ferrand, dates from 1832; their capital is now 2,000,000 

 francs; 'hey are the manufacturers of the widely known 

 " Michelin " pneumatic tires. 



=The Aktieselskabet den Norse Remfabrik [The Norwegian 

 Belt Factory Stock Co.], at Christiana, is mentioned as manu- 

 facturing Balata belting in addition to leather, hair and cotton 

 belts. 



NEW RECLAIMED RUBBER FACTORY,. 



"A .SHORT time ago," says the Gummi- Zeitung (Dresden), 

 "we had the pleasure to see with us Mr. Ernest E. Buckle- 

 ton, who is regarded in the rubber industry of America as an 

 experienced authority. At present Mr. Buckleton is traveling 

 on the continent, to interest the rubber manufacturers for a 

 new kind of reclaimed rubber, which, according to the 

 samples this gentleman carries, represents most decidedly the 

 best product of this kind, which we have seen so tar. Pre- 

 sumably the manufacturing is going to be taken up in Eng- 

 land this year on a large scale, and we shall then have more 

 to say about it to our readers." 



A BRANCH OF FRANKENBURO'S IN GERMANY. 



The firm of I. Frankenburg, Limited (Manchester, England), 

 have established in Hamburg, Holstenhof, Kaiser Wilhelm 

 strasse, a factory of rubber-cloaks for ladies and gentlemen. 

 The firm have resolved upon establishing a factory on German 



territory, in order the better to produce goods adapted to Ger- 

 man taste and design. The management of this factory has 

 been entrusted to Mr. Bock, who is well known in the busi- 

 ness. The representation for Berlin has been accepted by 

 Gustave Strelitzer, Charlottenburg, 94, Uhland strasse, also a 

 gentleman familiar with the business for years. 



THE GERMAN OXYLIN WORKS. 

 At an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of the Oxylin- 

 Werke, Aktiengesellschaft, of Piesteritz, Germany, held in 

 Leipsic on December 30, it was resolved to reduce the capital 

 from 1,000.000 marks to 250,000 marks, and to issue simultane- 

 ously preferred shares to the extent of 500,000 marks, for the 

 purpose of meeting the company's debts and providing work- 

 ing capital. To further increase their funds, mortgages have 

 been placed on the company's plant, which is insured for 

 1,200,000 marks. The company will be known in future as the 

 Gummi-Werke " Elbe," Aktiengesellschaft. It will manufac- 

 ture technical goods and hospital sheeting, in which lines the 

 company began tiie new year with very considerable orders at 

 satisfactory prices. 



CONCURRENT RUBBER." 



THE term " rubber substitute," applied to the great variety 

 of materials that are used as admixtures or fillers in the 

 manufacture of India-rubber goods, is evidently a misleading 

 one. A substitute is understood to "take the place of," and 

 '• answering the same purpose." There is no such substitute 

 existing, and it appears safe to say that it never will be possible 

 to produce by artificial means a substance that will take the 

 place of India-rubber, possessing the wonderful qualities of the 

 natural gum, its astounding elasticity and resiliency, water- 

 proof, acid proof, insulating and other qualities. The term 

 " Concurrent Rubber " adapted lately by Mr. Junius Nagel, of 

 New York, for his very interesting new product, is much nearer 

 to reality. "Concurrent" means "contributing to the same 

 effect, acting in conjunction, agreeing, uniting with." 



Mr. Nagel is the inventor of the well-known " Interior 

 Conduits " (system of insulating tubes that are similar to hard 

 rubber), a variety of asbestos and other new products, insulat- 

 ing materials, etc. According to the inventor no other arti- 

 ficially prepared substance so nearly resembles India-rubber. 

 Its expansion reaches about four to five times its original vol- 

 ume, while its resiliency — though not acting instantaneously — 

 is remarkable. It will mix and vulcanize with India-rubber, 

 but may also be used independently for insulating electric 

 wires, the manufacture of insulating tape for waterproofing, 

 and the like. It contains no sulphur, rubber shoddy, or any 

 foreign admixture; can be manufactured in any degree of 

 hardness or softness, and its price is comparatively low. 



" Concurrent rubber " is not one of the so called " oil substi- 

 tutes," which in most cases are composed of vegetable oils. 

 It may be stated nevertheless, that there is used in it about 20 

 per cent, of hnseedoil, the balance being gums, etc. The lino- 

 lein, however, owing to a peculiar process, is decomposed and 

 is converted into linoleic anhydride and linoxyn. It is not 

 considered advisable, that more than 20 per cent, to 25 per 

 cent, of " concurrent rubber " should be admixed in the manu- 

 facture of first-class rubber goods; consequently, in this case, 

 the linseed oil derivatives contained in the whole compound, 

 will not amount to more than 4 to 5 per cent. 



Finally it may be mentioned that " concurrent rubber," al- 

 though a new article, has been tested and tried by a number of 

 prominent rubber manufacturers, who report satisfactory re- 

 sults. 



