A Time of Expansion

In the Spring of 1986, Avon acquired Galt Composites and also later in the year, CQC PLC. These companies both manufactured a range of defence products including helmets, body armour, NBC protective suits and sleeping bags.

In 1987, Avon purchased the French company, Tabur Caoutchouc, based in Vannes, Brittany, now known as Avon Polymères France. It manufactures a wide range of rubber components for the automotive market.

In 1988, following a record profit which was 40% up on the previous year, Avon Inflatables reached an agreement to purchase the assets of the French inflatable boat manufacture, Sillinger, located in the Loire Valley in France. For many years sales of Avon inflatable products had been inhibited by the lack of a European manufacturing and distribution base and it was hoped that the acquisition of Sillinger would provide a springboard for the development of the European inflatables market.

These are the type of defence products manufactured at CQC and Galt

Cadillac Rubber and Plastics Group is Avon's largest acquisition ever

In June of 1989, Avon's largest acquisition ever was made. Cadillac Rubber and Plastics Group, a leading manufacturer of extruded and moulded rubber and plastics products serving mainly the US automotive industry, was purchased for over £37 million. The Cadillac Group consisted of an administrative headquarters and three manufacturing plants in Michigan and factories in Lockport and Albion, New York State, together with a new custom-built plant in Juarez, Mexico. The purpose of the acquisition was to establish additional manufacturing capacity in the US and strengthen Avon's position in the US automotive market. The Cadillac group already had strong trading links with the major US car manufacturers and allowed Avon to develop automotive and technical products markets which could not be effectively addressed from its European factories.

Also in 1989, SP Tyres UK Limited, a subsidiary of one of the largest tyre groups in the world, which manufactures under the Dunlop brand, acquired a 70% stake in Motorway Tyres and Accessories Ltd. As part of the agreement, SP also acquired a 20% holding in Avon Tyres Ltd. The aim was for the two companies to examine the possibilities for manufacturing selected tyres for each other.

In 1992, a joint venture was formed, also in the USA, between Cadillac Rubber & Plastics and two Japanese companies, Teito Rubber and Tomen Corporation. The new company, known as CT Rubber & Plastics Inc, is 60% owned by Avon and supplies automotive components such as radiator, heater, fuel and emission hoses.

A Time of Expansion - Part 2

This was followed later in the year by another joint venture, this time in the UK. Clevite Elastomers Inc, the USA's largest manufacturer of suspension mountings for the heavy truck market, teamed up with Avon's vibration management and suspension mounting division to create Avon-Clevite Limited. A new 100,000 square foot factory was custom built to house the new company in Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK and opened by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent. In 1996, the company became wholly owned by Avon and changed its name to Avon Vibration Management Systems Ltd.

Also in 1992, Avon Automotive opened its second factory in Trowbridge which manufactures windscreen wiper blades. Previously the work had been carried out at Kingston Mills in nearby Bradford on Avon, but the success of the business, which at the time employed 50 people, merited a new purpose-designed facility.

In November of the following year, the new specialist rubber mixing area was opened at the Melksham site. Its predecessor was formerly housed in the old Kingston Mills factory in Bradford on Avon, which was closed earlier in the year as part of the wide ranging restructuring of Avon's Wiltshire operations which had been ongoing since the end of 1991.

At the end of 1993, it was announced that the formal ties between Avon Tyres Limited and SP Tyres were to be severed. Avon bought back SPs 20% share in Avon Tyres and SP purchased the remaining share in Motorway Tyres and Accessories Ltd.

In January 1994, Avon-S&H, which manufactured and assembled components for the automotive air conditioning systems decided to close its Melksham based facility and move production to Williamstown, South Wales. This move provided space for Avon Tyres to extend truck radial tyre production.

A month later, Avon Inflatables Ltd disposed of its fibre moulding operation, Avon (Cowes) Ltd, to Island Plastics. Island Plastics were to continue manufacturing hulls for Avon Inflatables, but the sale would allow Avon to benefit from Island Plastics' considerable technical expertise as well as being able to concentrate on the manufacture of inflatable tubes.

At the same time, the Aerosol Products Group established a manufacturing unit in Illinois, North America. Avon had already supplied aerosol gaskets to the US market for over 20 years, but the opening of the new plant would mean they could provide a better, faster and more cost effective service to their US customers.

Another Avon group keen to expand its US market was Avon Inflatables and in February 1994, the marketing and distribution of Avon inflatable craft in the US was undertaken by Avon Seagull Marine, California, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avon Inflatables.

In April 1994, Avon Spencer Moulton in France formed a strategic alliance with Japan's Fukuyama Rubber Company to become Fukuyama's sole manufacturer and licensee of rubber crawler track in Europe. This agreement has gone from strength to strength and has allowed Avon Spencer Moulton to expand its market supplying such blue-chip customers at Bobcat, JCB and Neuson.

In June 1994, the Avon board decided that it would concentrate fully on its three core activities of automotive components, technical products and tyres. To this end, Avon Inflatables Limited was sold to a new company, Avon Marine Limited. As a result of the sale, it was agreed that Avon Inflatables would still have the right to use the Avon name and trademark and to purchase high specification rubberised fabrics from Avon Tyres Ltd.

Bobcat equipped with Avon crawler track

A Time of Expansion - Part 3

In 1995, the new Corporate Headquarters were opened at Manvers House, Bradford on Avon, thus continuing the rubber industry's links with the town which began in the mid 19th century.

Sales of Avon tyres were going from strength to strength and in September 1995, after reporting a 70% increase in replacement sales of car tyres for the year, two new distribution warehouses were opened in the USA to add to the two which were already in operation there. Later that year, Avon Tyres also announced the establishment of its own sales headquarters and warehouse near Paris, France, following the growing popularity of Avon tyres by French motorists.

Avon HQ, Manvers House

During this profitable period, the Avon Group continued to expand and in May 1996, Avon Polímeros, a purpose-built hose factory, opened in Portugal to supply hoses for Ford in Spain and Brazil. It is also strategically well placed to take advantage of the growing Portuguese automotive market and the well-established Spanish market.

In 1996 the Automotive division established a joint venture company with Gold Seal, an original equipment supplier of extruded sealing systems to all of India's major vehicle manufacturers. The new joint venture company is known as Gold Seal-Avon Polymers PVT Limited and has new factory space in Daman. This successful partnership has allowed Avon's high technology range of automotive heater and coolant hoses to be supplied to vehicle manufacturers throughout India.

Meanwhile, in June 1996, a decision was taken to sell the Abbey Mills factory in Bradford on Avon to Girlings Retirement Rentals. A former cloth mill, it had been bought by Spencer Moulton in 1913 and became part of Avon in 1956 when Avon Spencer Moulton was formed. Tyre re-moulding was carried out on the premises until 1970 and inflatables were first manufactured there from 1960-1964. The building had been gradually taken out of commission as business had transferred to other plants in the area. Today it houses luxury retirement apartments.

Abbey Mills, Bradford on Avon

Hose production at Rudnik

As part of Avon Automotive's continued expansion into Mainland Europe, a new hose production facility was opened in Rudnik, Czech Republic, in March 1997. Until then, the company had been in operation since 1993 as Avon-Rubena a.s., a joint venture with Rubena a.s., a Czech rubber and silicone manufacturing specialist. The new facility was welcomed as an opportunity to expand production capacity and introduce improvements in technology as well as greatly improve working conditions for its employees. Following the success of the new plant, a decision was taken shortly after to purchase the remaining 35% stake in Avon-Rubena. Today it is a wholly owned subsidiary known as Avon Automotive Rudnik a.s. and manufactures not only automotive components, but also business machine parts for the Technical Products division.