Damard
Lacquer
In 1902, the British scientist Sir James
Swinburne was shown a lump of solid phenolic
resin patented by an Austrian inventor, Adolph
Luft. Swinburne thought the material might have
commercial possibilities and in 1904 formed a
small London-based company which he called
Fireproof Celluloid Syndicate Limited with
himself as Chairman.
The new company undertook a series of
investigations into the material at Swinburne’s
laboratories in 82 Victoria Street, London. It
proved to have serious drawbacks and they failed
to produce a satisfactory moulding material which,
had they done so, would in any case almost
certainly have infringed Baekeland’s patents.
What they could make, however, was a hard
synthetic lacquer for coating brass and other
metals which Swinburne, with typical humour, name
Damarda Lacquer - a conjoining of the words 'damn'
and 'hard'. By 1909, the total output of lacquer
was only around 35 gallons a month and it was
clear that the Syndicate in its current form
would never be a commercial success. On 21 March
1910, the Syndicate was wound up and its effects
and personnel transferred to a new organisation,
The Damard Lacquer Company Limited, with
manufacturing premises at 98, Bradford Street,
Birmingham.
Using primitive production plant made by a
local plumber, lacquer production was
concentrated in a lean-to shed at the rear of the
premises which was overlooked by a doctor’s
surgery who constantly complained about the foul
smells. The primary reason for the relocation to
Birmingham was that the city was the centre of
Britain’s flourishing brassware industry -
more particularly the brass bedsteads then in the
height of fashion. The Damard lacquer was of
excellent quality and well able to compete with
more traditional shellac-based products. America,
too, proved to be such a good market that, in
1912, premises were acquired on Long Island, New
York and the Damard Manufacturing Company of
America began production in the autumn of that
year.
The 1914-18 war was to have significant effect
on the fortunes of the Company. Damard were by
this time producing resins for insulating sheets
and impregnating brake linings. This led to a
demand that could not be met by Bradford Street.
At the invitation of the Custodian of Enemy
Property, however, the company was asked to take
over a factory at Cowley in Middlesex which
formerly had been run by a German company
associated with Baekeland and using his patents
and know-how. The superiority, product range and
sophistication of the plant was a revelation and
enabled Damard to learn much about making
phenolic moulding powders and casting resins.
Meanwhile, the problems of communicating with
America in wartime and a threat of patent
litigation by Baekeland led to the closing down
of the Long Island plant. Baekeland, however, was
anxious to support the war effort and friendly
negotiations with him led to two important
decisions: first, that the Damard Lacquer Company
could continue to use his patents during the war
and secondly, that he would be keen to come to
some business arrangement with them after the war.
The experience gained from Cowley and a bright
outlook in 1920 encouraged the Company to expand
production on a new site in Warwick Road, Greet,
Birmingham. Bradford Street was closed. The
serious economic slump that followed almost
immediately threatened survival but, thanks to
Swinburn’s moral and financial support, the
company held on until, by 1924, new emerging
industries such as radio, electrical and
automobiles created good demand for their
products. At this time, too, a generation of new
products, including urea formaldehyde resins, was
introduced.
The Damard Lacquer Company had two serious
business rivals in Britain: Mouldensite Ltd of
Darley Dale were skilled moulders and held a
licence to manufacture and sell phenolic
materials under the British patents of the
Condensite Company of America; Redmanol Limited
of London was the British selling agent for the
Redmanol Chemical Products Company of America.
Both American companies were threatened with
patent litigation by Dr Baekeland but he resolved
the matter by buying all the shares of the two
companies concerned and combining them with his
Bakelite organisation under the title Bakelite
Corporation. Dr. Baekeland then decided to extend
his business interest in the United Kingdom and
registered Bakelite Limited in May 1926. He then
negotiated with Damard Lacquer Company and
reached an agreement with them in which Bakelite
Limited acquired the assets of all three
companies. Damard Lacquer Company Limited and
Mouldensite Limited continues as separate units
until January 1928 when both went into voluntary
liquidation.
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