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Thomas De La Rue
The founder
of the original
company, Thomas de la Rue, was born in Guernsey in 1793. After
a 7-year
printing apprenticeship Thomas moved to London and developed a
straw bonnet millinery firm in which he experimented using
Macintosh’s patent “for rendering substances impervious to
water” and examined substitute leather invented by Hancock.
 In
1833 Thomas in partnership rented 110, Bunhill Row, Finsbury,(left)
which
remained the business home until it was destroyed
in 1940
during
the Blitz. William IV granted a Royal Letter Patent in 1832 for
improved playing cards. These were of outstanding paper and
registered print quality. Many other patents followed. Thomas
de la Rue died in 1856, leaving a well established family
business which had developed several diverse industries.
The pedigree of the
de la Rue family and its enterprises has been excellently
detailed in
reference 1. This
describes the family business and social events until 1941. The
ethos of the Thomas de la Rue Company has always been to seek
scientific and technological leadership in its many fields,
coupled with commercial acumen. Warren de la Rue, Thomas’
eldest son born in 1815, became an eminent scientist much
involved with the new business world of envelopes and stamps.
Sir Evelyn Andros
de la Rue held many patents on fountain pens. The Onoto pen,
using a filling plunger, was launched in 1905 and established a
great market presence.
In the plastics
field Thomas de la Rue acquired interests in Telenduron
products in 1914 whereby battery boxes and electrical insulators
were moulded from
bituminous compounds. Endura-ware tableware products were
subsequently produced from
thermosetting
plastics.
Major business growth by 1937 led to the Walthamstowe Avenue
Works enjoying large investments in 1000 to 1500 ton presses
moulding novolak phenolic resins, the number of hydraulic
compression presses growing to 70. Phenolic cloth laminate
‘Delaron’ sheeting was produced for electrical and mechanical
use. In collaboration with the British Post Office De La Rue
Plastics Ltd. produced components and coloured telephone
housings over many years. Moulded phenolic radio cabinets were
also major production items (ref.
2).
The Avenue Works
and ancillaries at one stage were the largest moulding group in
Europe and their value was proved in World War II. During this
time many items were produced for the armed services, including
Bakelite phenolic grenades, communications equipment and large
items for Wellington bombers. Joint work with groups such as
Plessey, using for example high dielectric Bakelite materials
and producing plastic replacements for metal car components,
provided essential support to the war effort. Plastic non-metal
toilet seats for minesweepers provided a novel approach.
Injection moulding developed with use of new polythene resins
for radio and radar, as well as high numbers of cellulose
acetate combs (ref.
3).
By 1945 the Avenue
Works and related groups employed 3000 people working in three
shifts, producing items such as thermoset car components. Other
products emerged using new polymers such as polypropylene, nylon
and high impact polystyrene (ref.
4).
Major changes took
place in 1946/47 when the moulding interests were sold to
National Plastics Ltd., with the insulation, industrial and
decorative laminates moving to North Shields in the north east
of England. In 1959 National Plastics was acquired by
Courtaulds Limited, whilst Formica Limited became the laminate
group in North Shields, manufacturing and marketing decorative
and industrial laminates from 1946 (reference 5). Formica Ltd.
became part of Formica International Ltd., with De La Rue
holding a major interest in collaboration with US Cyanamid
Corporation, which had established the US Formica Corporation in
1914.
By 1968 De La Rue
was manufacturing large volumes of metallic, decorative and
electrical laminates in fourteen countries, with huge press
capacity in North Shields and in France. Investment in research
and development at the Maidenhead Research Centre
(left)
provided many
innovations in the above business alongside the continuing
Thomas De La Rue security printing businesses. Formica
International was sold to American Cyanamid in 1977.
The De La Rue
group continues to use and develop plastics materials in its
many varied business interests including banknote threads,
holograms, security documents
and printing
components.
It remains the world’s largest security printer.
References
1.
The House that Thomas built, the Story of De La Rue Lorna
Houseman,
Chatto &
Windus, London, 1968.
2.
plastiquarian,
no.
23; 10
3.
plastiquarian, no.
24; 10
4.
plastiquarian,
no.
26; 6
5.
plastiquarian,
no.
27; 7
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