i 1, 1915. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 





The India Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



I I NERAL REMARKS. 



WITH no earl i sation of hostilities in sight, the rubber 

 tr;uk- pursues much the same course from month to 

 month. Though business all ai mtinues to be 



decidedly good, troubles with regard to scarcity of labor 

 have increased rather than diminished, and though we are by 

 no means in the condition of the other belligerents, who have 

 universal service, yet we continue to approach their industrial 

 conditions more closely. The effect of the Munitions Rill is 

 beginning to be felt in the withdrawal of skilled mech 

 from works making rubber machinery to engage in the manu- 

 facture of munitions, and more unlikely things are in prospect 

 than the taking over of rubber machinery works for the above 

 purpose. At any rate, at the present time firms ask nine 

 months for delivery of machinery which would in happier 

 times have been delivered in two in. nubs. This, of curse, is 



against development and the exploiting of new ideas with 

 regard to tires, etc 



The biggest extension of works on hand is the new factory 

 of the Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited. This is situated about 

 tour miles from Birmingham and work has already been 

 started on the foundations. \s great promptitude has been 

 shown with the whole scheme, presumably the machinery is 

 already purchased or under construction, and as the firm is 

 so largely engaged on government work it is hardly likely 

 that difficulties would be put in the way of obtaining the nec- 

 essary machinery. With other firms, differently situated, 

 however, great delays seem to be inevitable. The forthcom- 

 ing National Service Register may possibly prove the ex- 

 istence of a goodly number of unemployed rubber experts 

 willing to put their services at the disposal oi their country. 



\ point regarding government contracts on which there 

 appears to be some misunderstanding is that specifications 

 regulating the exact composition of rubber goods are only 

 issued in respect to certain goods, notably for what are known 

 a- admiralty qualities. In other cases, as, for instance, the 

 important one of solid tires, the goods have to be up to a 

 certain standard, but the details of their composition are left 

 to the manufacturers. Whether high quality reclaimed rubber 

 is used or not is a matter on which I am not qualified to 

 speak, but its use is not forbidden except in specific instances. 

 A recent order of the Privy Council regarding prohibited ex- 

 ports contains the phrase "goods made wholly or partly of 

 rubber" instead of the former phrase "goods made wholly of 

 rubber." Further, in addition to rubber the following are 

 now on the list of prohibited exports, gutta percha, balata, 

 Borneo guayule. jelutong. Palembang, Pontianak and all other 

 substances containing caoutchouc. Under the circumstances 

 this was only to be expected. With regard to all other sub- 

 stances containing rubber some complications may arise 

 various names are in use for what have been for convenience 

 styled pseudo rubbers, and. moreover, not much is known 

 about them as to their importation and disposal. For in- 

 stance, our old friend, variously known as potato rubber. 

 Euphorbia gum and also Tuno gum — which I believe is not 

 really the same thing — still comes in quantities to certain 

 firms, while other important firms would not know it if they 

 saw it. As caoutchouc is more widely distributed in plant life 

 than is generally supposed, perhaps it would have been as 

 well to indicate some such maximum amount as 2 per cent, so 

 as to eliminate the banana artichoke and chickweed varieties. 

 Considering the adverse effect of the war upon trade jour- 

 nalism generally, it is not surprising to hear that the "Rubber 



World.' of London, is i, cease publication and 

 up. It was the last of the special journals founded during 

 the rubber boom to survive the fallen interest of the public 

 in thi and its prolonged life speaks much for the 



journalistic enterprise and acumen of Mr. }'.. A. Salmon, its 

 tar. 



TRAD 



It may be remembered that some time ag< :rdar 



Tyre & Rubber I o., whose works arc at Bradfon 

 Avon, got int.. financial difficulties and was carried on un- 

 der a receivership Later th< works wire announced for sale, 

 but were ultimately disposed of by private treaty, which in- 

 volved the introduction of a considerable amount of capital. 

 I h( se work-, which were well equipped with machinery, are 

 now m full -win- again under the old title and are busily 

 engaged on government orders. This observation applies 

 with equal force to the other works in the west of England, 

 ely, tin Won Rubber Co., Limited. Spencer Moulton & 

 Co.. Limited, and Wallington, Weston & Co., Limited. 



The Rubl nerating Co., Limited, of Manchester, con- 



tinues to expand under the active management of Mr. Mc- 

 ECusick, who has now got out plans for further extension of 

 the works, that procedure having become an annual event. 

 Mr. McKusick is no believer in the somewhat doleful 

 casts ioi the reclaiming business indulged in by Mr. Maclaren, 

 of the "India Rubber Journal." a year or two ago. Mr. Mc- 

 Kusick holds the opinion that as long as rubber goods are 

 made old material will be reclaimed and that as far as the 

 financial side is concerned the prices of new rubber and 

 of scrap rubber will continue their market movements in 

 unison. 



The Weber Rubber Co., Limited, of Collyhurst. Man- 

 chester, is a rubber heel manufacturing concern which has 

 been hit by the . losing of the Continental markets and is now 

 under the management of a receiver appointed by the court. 

 This company has not now any connection as regards pro- 

 prietorship with the company called the Xew Turco Rubber 

 Co., Limited. 



S( [ENTIFIC AXI) PATENT LITERATURE. 



Not unnaturally under the circumstances, the last nine 

 months have witnessed a paucity of contributions to the 

 chemical side of our industry, and more particularly from 

 Continental sources. With regard to synthetic rubber, if this 

 in Germany at a time when its advent there 

 must be especially welcome the fact is unlikely to be an- 

 nounced to the world, while as for our own Synthetic Products 

 Co.. ni doubl they are giving all their attention to the pro- 

 duction of acetone, which is largely required in munitions 

 manufacture. A recent paper by Dr. - on the role of 



litharge in vulcanization is an interesting contribution to the 

 technology of rubber. It is to be found in the "Journal of the 

 Society of Chemical Industry" for May. The fact that sul- 

 phate of lead is to be found in goods vulcanized with sulphur 

 and litharge was perhaps not very generally known and the 

 analytical procedure he has devised for determining the sul- 

 phide and sulphate of lead in rubber goods forms an interest- 

 ing addition to rubber analytical methods. 



The "miserable secrecy" which the late Dr. Weber said 

 characterized the works of our rubber manufacturers' labora- 

 tories is not being maintained by our largest firm, the North 

 British Rubber Co.. Limited. At the last London Rubber 

 Exhibition the firm's chemists showed up prominently, both 



