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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1914. 



The India Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



NEW WORKS. 



DlRlXii .March a somewhat lengthy report was published in 

 :i -Manchester paper to the effect that the Leyland and 

 ilirniiiigliam Rubber Co. had bought the new but never 

 used works of the Bradford Dyers' Combine at Handforlh, 

 Cheshire, for the purposes of a branch factory ; and the impor- 

 tance of this new industry to a rural district was pointed out in 

 glowing terms. Now, as far as the Leyland company is con- 

 cerned, tlie report is erroneous, as they have no intention of 

 starting another factory. The real facts of the case are that 

 T. H. Roberts, chairman of the Wood-Milne Co., Limited, of 

 Leyland, in association with some of his friends, has arranged to 

 finance the manufacture on a large scale of a product invented 

 by Robert Russell and developed by Mr. Metcalfe, of the Maroro 

 Rubber Works, Brimscombe, near Gloucester. This product is 

 variously referred to as synthetic, artificial and reclaimed rubber 

 — terms which, of course, are by no means synonymous. 



In the absence of authenticity as to the sample I have inspected, 

 1 shall not on the present occasion say more than that if it was 

 really made from wood, the discovery and manufacture are 

 likely to prove of the very highest importance. A report has 

 been sedulously circulated to the effect that Charles Macintosh 

 & Co. are largely interested in the new venture, but this I am 

 authoritatively informed is not the case. The works which Mr. 

 Roberts has taken, and the price of which is stated to be f73,000, 

 are situated about fourteen miles from Manchester and are quite 

 extensive, being nearly one-quarter mile long by 90 yards wide ; 

 anil altbo emplo_\ment will not lie found for 600 rubber workers, 

 as foreshadowed in the press, yet they will of course add to the 

 commercial importance of the district. As it seems to be sup- 

 posed by many people that this new concern is in connection with 

 the Synthetic Products Co., Limited, with which Professsor 

 Perkin and Sir W. Ramsay are associated. I may say that there 

 is no connection whatever between tlie two concerns. 



PERSOX.-\L MEXTIOX. 



Mr. Walter Wild, who has for some years been works manager 

 for the Wood-Milne Co., Limited, at Leyland, has resigned his 

 position and is at present engaged in an agency business of his 

 own for raw and reclaimed rubbers, a branch in which he has 

 previously had considerable experience. 



Mr. James Tinto, managing director of the Irwell and Eastern 

 Rubber Works, Limited, Manchester, has returned from an ex- 

 tended business trip through the United States and Canada. In 

 the course of a few observations he said that there was prac- 

 tically no difference between the machinery made and used in 

 America and that to be seen in British works : where the Ameri- 

 cans had an advantage was that their buildings w-ere mostly of 

 one story, and that the factories had plenty of ground in re- 

 serve whereliy extensions could be cheaply made ; that with the 

 majority of British works, situated in urban areas, any extension 

 was apt to prove a costly matter, the price of the adjacent land 

 being in many cases prohibitive even if negotiations could be en- 

 tertained at all. 



Mr. F. J. S. Gray, late works manager of the Gorton Rubber 

 Co., is at present on the traveling staff of the St. Helens Cable & 

 Rubber Co.. Limited, of Warrington. Mr. Gray has an intimate 

 knowledge of rubber manufacture, having gone to the Gorton 

 works from the Aston Cross works of the Dunlop Rubber Co., 

 where he was under-manager for fourteen years. E. S. Gray, 

 his brother, is now under-manager at the works of the Rubber 

 Regenerating Co.. Limited, Trafford Park, Manchester. He was 

 manager for the Mersey Reclaiming Co., Limited, of Stockport, 



until the fire of about a year ago put an end to that business. He 

 had previously had experience in reclaiming in America. 



Hampson Brothers, Limited, of Clayton Lane, Manchester, are 

 now making a specialty of machinery for rubber manufacturers 

 and plantations. The name will be familiar to many in the rubber 

 trade, as their late father was for many years managing directoi 

 of the Castle Rubber Co., Limited, of Warrington. 



Lieutenant-Colonel T. .\. Fallows, T. D., has been appointed 

 commanding officer of the Eighth Lancashire Fusiliers (Terri- 

 torials). In business life he is well known in rubber circles, as 

 commercial manager of the Leyland and Birmingham Rubber 

 Co., at the Leyland works. 



GORTOX RUBBER WORKS. 

 These works were sold piecemeal by auction on April 1 and 2. 

 The 335 lots attracted a large number of buyers, and satisfactory 

 prices were generally obtained, A good deal of the machinery 

 was of quite recent erection ; but, making all allowance for this 

 fact, the prices obtained in most cases were surprisingly good, 

 the buyers being rubber machinists who were present in force. 

 Those who w-ent from rubber works to pick up bargains ex- 

 pressed themselves as disappointed with the sale. The proceeds 

 are hardly likely to cover the debentures fully, and there is no 

 prospect of any return to the shareholders. 



RUBBER LITER.\TURE. 



"Rubber, Its Sources, Cultivation and Preparation," by Harold 

 Brown, technical superintendent of the Imperial Institute, Lon- 

 don, has a preface by Professor Wyndham Dunstan, who re- 

 iterates his opinion tliat plantation rubber which can be profitably 

 sold at less than 2s. per pound has little to fear from the competi- 

 tion of the synthetic material. This book will be found useful 

 by a good many people who wish to be up to date with regard 

 to the sources of raw- rubber. A special feature is the copious 

 reference to West Africa, where the native collectors in the 

 French colonies are receiving instruction either in "Rubber 

 Schools" or by traveling instructors. Improved methods of ex- 

 ploiting the Laiidolphia find specific reference. The author does 

 not give any decided personal opinion with regard to the debated 

 question as to whether the vines should be tapped or whether 

 they should be cut down and left to reproduce themselves in 

 three years. The matter, it is said, is now- under special notice 

 in the French Congo, where the merits of the alternative proc- 

 esses will be decided. Wlien this comes to pass, the vines, he 

 surmises, will have ceased to be of much interest as a source of 

 rubber. 



With regard to plantation Para, it is pointed out that chemical 

 analysis fails to distinguish between rubber from young trees and 

 that from old ones, tho that from the former is usually much 

 w-eaker. This authoritative statement should be taken to heart 

 by those chairmen of plantation company meetings who announce 

 triumphantly that their chemists have found no difference be- 

 tween the plantation product and Fine Hard. 



FIRES .\T WORKS. 

 One of the largest fires ever known in the Manchester district 

 occurred on Sunday. March 29, at the tar distilling works of 

 Hardman & Holden. Limited, damage to the extent of £80,000 

 being done. The firm is one of the largest producers of solvent 

 naphtha in the country. On .Xpril 2 much damage was caused by 

 a fire at the works of the British Pluviusin Co., Limited, at 

 Minton Green, near Manchester. The main product of manufac- 

 ture is an artificial leather made with oils, rubber, acetone, ben- 

 zine, etc., and the fire is said to liave been caused l)y the sun's 



