October 1, 1920.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



53 



EXPLOSIVES TRADES LIMITED 



This amalgamation, effected towards tlie close of the war 

 between the various hitherto competitive companies making 

 explosives, has invested its surplus capital amounting to aliout 

 60 per cent of the whole, in such a variety of undertakings 

 that its title is incongruous and to some extent misleading. 

 Therefore it is shortly to be changed. Substantial holdings 

 have been acquired in the Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited, and 

 its subsidiaries, in the Rotax Motor Accessories Co., Limited, 

 and the business of John Marston, Limited, two makers of tlio 

 Sunbeam cycles, has been bought outright. .\ large sum has 

 also been invested in the General Motors Corporation, Inc., 

 of America. Substantial holdings have also been taken in the 

 British DycstufFs Corporation and the British Cellulose Co., 

 Limited. The latest inove is the acquisition of the whole of 

 the shares of the British Pluviusin Co., Limited. This concern 

 was founded about fifteen years ago, if my memory is correct, 

 to make artificial leather at Monton Green, seven miles from 

 Manchester, and the business has made continuous progress. 

 The works are situated close to those of the important Winter- 

 bottom Book Cloth Co., Limited, the two, it is understood, 

 having joint financial interest. 



A BRITISH RUBBER CLUB 



Following an article appearing in the .August issue of our 

 new trade periodical Tlic Rubber Age (London), I under- 

 stand that the suggestion to form a rubber club on the lines of 

 that which has now been established some years in ..\merica 

 has met with a good response from the trade. .\ Manchester 

 rubber manufacturer has promised a gift of £100 towards the 

 necessary expenses, to which The Rubber Age will add 100 

 guineas. It is proposed to hold a preliminary meeting during 

 September, either in London or Manchester, and to appoint 

 an executive committee to formulate the scheme which will 

 afterwards be submitted to the trade, .\lthough names of sup- 

 porters of the scheme are now being enrolled, no one sending 

 his name in will be considered bound thereby in any way until 

 the full scheme is laid before him. I do not know how long 

 the process of formation of the -American club took, but I 

 rather imagine that the many matters whicli are boimd to 

 come up for consideration in such a move connected with an 

 old established and withal conservative industry will necessitate 

 an adjournment of the first meeting if the attendance is large 

 and representative as it promises to be. 



TRADE NOTES 



Among works which have been established in the last few 

 years is that of the Chorley Rubber Co., Limited, of Wildbank 

 Works, Chorley, Lancashire. The promoter was Mr. Bolton, 

 late of the Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co., Limited, and 

 he is the moving spirit in the enterprise which is concerned 

 with the manufacture of mechanicals, molded and surgical rubber 

 goods. Lcndon offices have recently Ijeen opened at 103 Cannon 

 street, E. C, under the management of G. E. Watson, late of 

 the North British Rubber Co., Limited. 



H. S. Firestone, of Akmn, Ohio, recently spent three months 

 in England, occupying a furnished mansion near East Oind- 

 stead. Sussex. He has been also a guest of Marshall 

 Stevens, M. P., at Bowdon, Cheshire. Mr. Stevens is chairman 

 of the Trafiford Park Estates Co., Limited, and the Xylos Rub- 

 ber Co., Limited, and his guest has had good opportunities of 

 seeing the great industrial developments which have taken place 

 in the Trafford Park suburli of Manchester. 



W. A. Williams, prcsumal)ly he of the Xorth British Rubber 

 Co., Limited, Edinburgh, contributed an interesting and impor- 

 tant article- to the "Journal of the Society of Chemical Indus- 

 try" for August 16, pointing out that for the immediate re- 



quirements of the trade ihere are undoubtedly sufficient supplies 

 of crude rubber, despite the great development of the inotor 

 trade. Further with regard to the next few years, he does 

 not predict any real shortage, though there will be a tendency 

 for demand to overtake supply. He deals authoritatively with 

 the cotton position, pointing out the important eflfect the Arizona 

 output of long-staple cotton will have in steadying the market in 

 Egyptian cotton. He thinks that lire manufacturers will be 

 forced to the new departure of using a proportion of short- 

 staple cotton in these fabrics and any reduction in the life of 

 the tires could be compensated for by a corresponding decrease 

 in the selling price. Naturally the influx of American tires 

 comes up for consideration, and he foresees that the time will 

 shortly come when the American surplus output will be sent over 

 here if our markets are still open, producing a condition of 

 affairs outside the control of the British manufacturer, who 

 will have to depend upon governirient assistance against this 

 class of competition. 



MISCELLANEOUS FOREIGN NOTES 



A ccoRniNG to The Financial Times, London, the British Plu- 

 ^^ viusin Company (1920), Ltd., was registered as a private 

 company on -August 27, with a capital of £1,250,(X), in ,£l-shares. 

 The company is to enter into an agreement with Explosives 

 Trades, and to carry on the business of waterproofers, manufac- 

 turers of imitation leather, leather cloth, linoleum, paper and 

 cloth combined, tarpaulins, surgical bandages, waterproof cloth, 

 mackintoshes, etc. The registered office is at 12 Xewton street, 

 Manchester. 



Declared exports of crude rubber from the consular district 

 of Liverpool, England, lo the I'nited States for the month of 

 June, 1920, were valued at $74,H4,S. 



The British Industries Fair will be held in London from Feb- 

 ruary 21 to March 4, 1921. The Birmingham and Glasgow or- 

 ganizations are cooperating and exhibits will be on view at the 

 former place during the same time as in London. In Glas- 

 gow the dates will be from February 28 to March 11. Of the 

 sections interesting to the rubber trade may be noted those of 

 mechanical rubber goods, macliinery belting and accessories for 

 motor vehicles, bicycles and airplanes, all in Birmingham. 



Reexports of rubber from Great Britain during the first six 

 months of 1920 advanced to £11,237.476, or gains of £5,X73,697 

 over the corresponding period in 1919 and £2,725,377 in 1913. 



The decided rise in prices of articles is responsible for the 

 greatly enhanced values of reexports to the United States, in- 

 cluding rubber, of which 177,031 centals, valued £2,789,477 

 were reexported in the first six months of 1913, and 499,088 

 centals, valued £6,236,086, in the corresponding period of 1920. 



Trade between Great Britain and Germany in the first six 

 months of 1913 included exports of rubber totaling 125,899 

 centals, valued £2,144,704; in the corresponding jieriod of 1920 

 the quantity was 50,175 centals, valued .£541,584. 



India rubber goods, not including tires, to the value of 

 $166,381 were imported into New Zealand during the first six 

 months of 1920, as against $112,450 in the corresponding period 

 (if 1919, and $177,554 during the first half of 1918. 



Walter .\. Robinson, general sales manager of the Skipper 

 Rubber Co., Calcutta, India, recently visited an .Akron rubber 

 factory. His company is now one of the largest Goodrich dis- 

 tributers in India. 



The B. F. Goodrich Co. will operate in Japan under the name 

 of The Yokohama Rubber Co., producing belting, tires, tubes, 

 hose and packing. Belting is already being manufactured, O, K. 

 Butler supervising the work. 



