The Birth and Development of the Frido Vinyl Playball

Harry Grimshaw

The late Mr Siegmund Friedland headed V & E. Friedland Ltd, and V & E Plastics Ltd. The former made doorbells and chimes, whilst the latter produced thermosetting mouldings for the Friedland chimes, and also for the motor vehicle industry. He gathered some knowledge of pvc plastisol technology in the manufacture of a lady'slightweight rain bootee, trade named ‘Tootsie’, by hot-dip moulding. In 1954 he visited the annual toy fair at Nuremberg, Germany. and saw a vinyl (pvc) playball on the stand of a Dr Priemer of Frankfurt. He asked Dr Priemer to sell him the manufacturing “know-how”, but was refused, even though he offered to disclose the manufacturing process of his “Tootsie” bootee. Mr Friedland returned to England and attempted to produce a ball, using his “Tootsie” plastisol, in a suitably modified domestic copperball valve float. This he rotated by hand over the gas ring in the works canteen!

Thus the idea was born. He then called in his clever toolmakers to mechanise his trial moulding. The late Dennis F Barton was the brilliant brain who designed and built the machine, where the moulds containing pvc plastisol gyrated in 3 planes of rotation, heated by direct gas flames, the duration of heating and rotation being automatically controlled to the second. Conventional pvc technologists would have recommended oven-heating of the moulds. Flame heating of the moulds, however. was faster than oven heating, and ‘carried’ the cure, or fusion, of the natural clear plastisol to very slight degradation, so that the ideal cure (fusion) time was when the resultant ball moulding was a touch burned. The colour, or degree of cure, was the familiar amber-clear often seen by pvc technologists when studying heat stabiliser tests. The first summer of Frido ball production was in amber-clear, and only later coloured the familiar red of the well known ‘A’ ball. With this degree of fusion, pvc exhibits maximum physical properties, giving maximum playball wear life. In fact, a very few members of the public did return Frido balls with the myriads of 1/16 inch proud nodules (pimples) completely worn smooth, saying they had had insufficient play value!!?

The name FRIDO was to the playball industry, and the public, as KODAK was to films. Its striking was most simple. The director largely responsible for V & E Friedland was Mr John Doggart, so that the first three letters of Friedland were placed before the first two letters of Doggart, and so the name “FRIDO” was born. Mr Friedland one year later returned to the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and showed Dr Priemer the Frido ball. Dr Priemer said “Ah! Well it is only the same as mine”. Mr Friedland said, “Oh! No. I now know how yours is made. It is made in two halves, by slush moulding, followed by bonding the two halves together. Mine is a seamless ball made in a single operation”.

The end of the story is the nicest part, for eventually Dr Priemer purchased FRIDO moulding machines, as did firms in France and South America. The first production was at the V & E Plastics works in Macclesfield, but there was insufficient room for expansion to meet the demand for the balls. Such was the market that Mr Friedland would sit in the Frido exhibition room at the January Harrogate Toy Fair, with the year’s forward maximum production schedule in front of him. When the wholesaler customers visited, he would ask them how many dozen balls they wanted and when. The year's production schedule was thus filled in in January for the March-October season, on a ‘first come first served’ basis, such was the popularity of the ball.

A redundant cotton mill was then purchased in 1957 in Stockport, and to cope with the insatiable ball demand, the gas feed pipe to the mill from Portwood Street to the mill had to be dug up, and relaid with an increased diameter pipe, to cope with the increased volume/rate of gas required. Twenty-four-hour shift working was also introduced. From day one, the manufacture of' pvc plastisol was ‘in house’ using many mixing and colouring machines. Plasticiser was delivered in bulk road tankers. Most of the customers were toy wholesale houses, and a most economical method of delivery transport was used. Railway lorries, loaded with paper sacks of 12 balls, took them to the then two stations of Edgeley and Tiviot Dale. They were sent by passenger train, and delivered anywhere in the UK within 2 days. A sack of 12 balls at 8½ oz. each only weighed about 8 lbs and the price charged was by weight only!! Hurrying rush hour commuter passengers cursed the hand platform trucks, loaded high with bags of balls all over the platform, awaiting their particular train .

In order to form the ball-sealing housing, a short length of' pvc tubing was first placed on a pin in one half mould, which welded to the pvc plastisol ball wall, on moulding. The first balls produced after inflation were sealed by inserting a ball-bearing into the housing so formed. Later a metal valve was inserted in the housing. This enabled a punctured ball to be repaired using the hot iron of the FRIDO repair kit, followed by inflation using a bicycle pump fitted with a FRIDO adapter, which screwed into the ball valve

Sales were boosted using the sponsorship of Stanley Matthews of football fame, and Gus Risman for rugby. Initially the balls were moulded singly, but later a cluster of five, or more smaller moulds were used. This enabled a considerable increase in production to be achieved. The very even wall thickness moulded, assisted the development of inflation techniques from the smaller moulded size, to final ball size. To assist higher production rates, plastisol dispensers were designed and built ‘in-house’ to discharge 5 measured shots of plastisol, simultaneously, into the 5 moulds. Although Cascelloid Ltd. of Leicester previously produced a white pvc ball by
moulding two halves, and subsequent bonding, FRIDO Ltd were the first large scale UK manufacturer of a seamless ball from a pvc plastisol, by rotational moulding.

The following patents were granted for the machine and method of manufacture of the ball, but not confined to balls only: BP 826076: BP 861318; US Pat 2967329. Several designs of ball were also registered, as were additional patents.

The production of designs on balls was an interesting development. Following the initial pimple, or nodule surface, moulds were engraved with grooves, which produced proud ribs on the ball. One was grooved in concentric circles at right angles so that the final ball looked like the model introducing the Panorama programme on BBC TV. The signature of Stanley Matthews was reproduced proud on the ball surface, by a facsimile groove in the mould. Later the Polka Dot ball was developed, where the surface spots were produced by placing disc shapes of thin pvc sheeting on the walls of the mould, prior to filling with ball wall plastisol. Eventually the Rainbow ball was added to the range by after-spraying of the finished ball. Swirled, or marbled, colour effects were produced by painting the mould with high viscosity coloured pvc plastisol, prior to adding the main wall coloured plastisol. No fair and honest account of the FRIDO playball would be complete without mention of the many years of loyal service, dedication and endeavour to Mr Friedland by the Works Manager cum salesman and general factotum, i.e. the late Mr Jack Sutton, without whom the rate of progress would not have been achieved. He is listed on the main patent as a co-inventor, well and truly earned.

PHS member Harry Grimshaw, was Technical Manager of FRIDO Ltd. 1955-1962 followed by a long career supplying plastisols for sale. He is now a consultant for pvc plastisols and processing technology.