March i, iqio. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



207 



Some Rubber Interests in Europe. 



THE HARD RUBBER INDUSTRY IN BRITAIN. 



CERTAIN' arrangements for resumption of work in the plant 

 which was for years the Scottish Vulcanite Co., Limited, 

 mentioned in The India Rubber World, December I, 1909 

 (page 74), failed to be completed, in consequence of which there 

 occurred at Edinburgh on January 12 an auction sale of the 

 plant, the buyers being the North British Rubber Co., Limited, 

 whose works at Viewforth the vulcanite plant closely adjoins. 



By entering the hard rubber industry, the North British com- 

 pany are now in a position to manufacture practically every line 

 of rubber goods. They are leading makers of tires, and engage 

 in a large way in the rubber footwear trade, not to mention 

 druggists' sundries and the like. As the readers of The India 

 Rubber World know, the Scottish Vulcanite plant was founded 

 by interests in common with those originally represented in the 

 North British Rubber Co., so that it is only logical that the newer 

 and smaller plant should in the end be merged with the larger. 



It is commonly asserted that the manufacture of hard rubber 

 goods in Great Britain has been rendered unprofitable by the 

 competition of the German trade. The Edinburgh Scotsman, in 

 an article evidently sanctioned by the rubber company, in a 

 recent issue, makes the following reference to politics: 



"The North British Rubber Co. have been to some extent in- 

 fluenced in their decision to purchase the vulcanite works by the 

 expectation that before very long a tariff will be instituted on 

 manufactured goods to safeguard the home-made article against 

 unfair competition. The North British company, with their great 

 resources, expect to be able to hold their own in the new venture 

 and to capture the larger part of the trade in this country, besides 



making inroads in'" the German trade abroad. They will avail 

 themselves of the highest technical and chemical skill obtainable, 

 both in Germany ami America, and will install a large amount of 

 new machinery and up-to-date plant." 



The India Rubber World reported recently the formation of 

 a joint stock company in Germany by the North British company 

 for the purpose not only of broadening their trade in rubber 

 footwear in the latter country, but also, under certain conditions, 

 of establishing a manufacturing plant there. 



DIVERSITY IN THE RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



A good point is made by The India-Rubber Journal (London) 

 in reference to the taking on a new line of goods by an important 

 rubber factory, with a view to a wider diversification of products. 

 It says: "Business is thus established on a sort of watertight 

 compartment plan, and if any one department from one cause or 

 another becomes unrenumerative, it is unlikely to threaten the 

 safety rf the ship. In other words, it gives manufacturers a 

 chance of making up on the roundabouts what they may lose on 

 the savings." 



In an article on "American and European Factory Policy," in 

 The India Rubber World, March 1, 1909 (page 211) was pointed 

 out a salient reason for the organization originally of the Ameri- 

 can rubber industry in special lines. Goodyear granted licenses 

 to different manufacturers to work his vulcanization patent each 

 for a certain product — footwear, clothing, belting, gloves, and so 

 on. During the life of his patent, therefore, diversification in 

 any one factory was impossible. And by the time the patent ex- 

 pired the idea of specialization had taken a deep hold upon the 

 trade. 



SCOTTISH VULCANITE WORKS, NOW OWNED BY NORTH BRITISH RUBBER CO., LIMITED. 



