The Early Years
The Avon Mill at Limpley Stoke The Avon story began over a century ago in Wiltshire when Messrs E G Browne and J C Margetson acquired a small, near derelict cloth mill, known as Avon Mill, on the banks of the River Avon at Limpley Stoke in 1885. Mr Browne was the financial partner and Mr Margetson provided a practical knowledge of india rubber manufacture combined with elementary chemistry, having been an employee of the Bristol Wagon Co.
The previous owners of the mill, Mr Giles Holbrow and his son, Willie, had originally been timber merchants. Some years earlier, they had bought Limpley Stoke Mill with the intention of using it as a flour mill, having tired of the timber business. However, in 1875 they had switched to the more lucrative trade of manufacturing articles from rubber. Therefore, when the mill was purchased, it was already an established rubber manufacturing business and came equipped with an engine, a boiler, two 60-inch calenders, two mixing machines, three heaters and four presses. The workforce consisted of 7 men, supervised by Willie Holbrow, who stayed on as Factory Manager.
1885 was also the year in which Gottleib Daimler invented the internal combustion engine, which in the following year powered the first motor vehicle. The event was to have a major effect on the development of both Avon and the world's rubber industry.
Avon's earliest orders were obtained from the War Office, the India Office, railway companies, wagon works and collieries. The business proved so successful that soon additional space was needed, so in 1889 the partners bought another derelict cloth mill and land, this time at Melksham (on the banks of the same River Avon).
The Melksham site became the Company's Corporate Headquarters and remained so for over 100 years. By 1890 the entire business had been moved to Melksham and a decision was taken to form a limited company to be named "The Avon India Rubber Company Limited". The prospectus included a message that "the adoption of India Rubber appliances in all branches of trade is increasing daily … and there is every reason to believe that the company will become even more financially successful in the future".
The public company began business on 1st October 1890. By then, the workforce had swelled to 20 men and 4 women. The men worked a 12-hour shift from 6:00 am and the women an hour less from 7:00 am. Solid tyres were made in the new premises and other major products included conveyor belting and rubber components for railways such as springs, buffers, conveyor belting and vacuum brake pipes. Sales for the first year amounted to £15,265 and wages to £1,065. The profit was £496 18s 4d.
Mr G P Fuller, J.P.
Came to Avon's financial aid in 1896
Company Chairman
March 1899 - March 1927
By 1891, the works were extremely busy, with the result that excessive overtime had to be resorted to causing severe cash flow problems for the fledgling company. These problems were further exacerbated by a consignment of poor quality buffers which had been sent to India, costing the company £550 in their first year of trade. The finances of the original partners were soon outstripped and in 1894, Mr Browne resigned his position as Managing Director and disposed of the greater portion of his interest in the company. It is on record that finances were so bad that the Company's contribution to the annual outing was reduced from £10 to £4 10s. In response to urgent appeals, Mr G P Fuller, then MP for Westbury, purchased 500 shares from Mr Margetson, who ploughed the money directly into the business to bolster its ailing finances. Mr Fuller's main objective was to combat the serious unemployment problem in Melksham, and his purchase earned him a seat on the Board. He quickly became Chairman and held that position until his death in 1927.
His son, Major R F Fuller, joined as Works Manager and assistant to his father in June 1897. Major Fuller had been trained as an electrical engineer at Faraday House, from where he passed out Senior with Honours in 1894. Another new employee joined in that year, namely Mr F T Swanborough. He was originally employed in the humble capacity of Office Manager (the office at the time comprised 2 people), but he would later have a significant part to play in the history of the company.
14th November 1896 was known as Emancipation Day in the motor industry. For the first time a motor car was allowed to travel on the highway without the well known "red flag man" walking in front. Autocar magazine proclaimed "this marks the throwing open of the highways and byways of our beautiful country to those who elect to travel thereupon in carriages propelled by motors, instead of in horse drawn vehicles or upon bicycles".
In March 1897 the opportunity for developing pneumatic tyres was discussed by the directors - an interesting example of anticipating a market need, at the time there were less than 50 cars of British make on the roads. In another example of the company's pioneering spirit, electric power and light was installed at a cost of £1,400. Avon had previously relied on steam to power its machinery, but the installation of electricity meant that production capacity could be greatly increased.
The Board in 1927
Mr F W Hinde,
Mrs F T Swanborough,
Major Robert F Fuller
As early as 1899 the company had built up a substantial trade in carriage tyres and pneumatic cycle tyres. That year, Mr Margetson resigned due to ill health and Mr F T Swanborough became joint MD with Major Fuller. Mr Swanborough was a Managing Director of the type that won the confidence and affection of all his associates, regardless of social background, and his death in 1915 was deeply lamented. His wife remained on the Board for some years after his death.
By 1900 the Melksham plant, premises and stock was valued at £7,700 - plus an additional £1,500 for the three boilers. The buildings then included a general mechanical moulding department, pneumatic tyre shop, laboratory, compound stores and warehouse. The site included "a stable and coach house which housed Charlie Margetson's pony and trap and a rough garden with a summer house, where he also kept a boat which came in useful during floods." (Charlie Margetson was the original Partner's son and had joined the company as Director in 1891).
In 1901 a new pneumatic tyre shop was built and cycle tyre production had risen to an output valued at £1,000 per week. Mr Fullers' original objective to reduce unemployment in Melksham had been realised. Additional houses were built because the factory had grown so large that there was a serious shortage of housing available in Melksham for the employees. A year later in 1902 three new mixers were purchased and nearly three acres of adjacent land acquired for expansion. The mechanical shop was extended and spreading and waste-grinding shops were built. A new boiler and chimney were also erected.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders was founded in July 1902 with 50 members and under its auspices the first ever Motor Show was held at Crystal Palace in 1904, the year that Avon became a member.
In 1903 the first set of 29 beaded edge motor tyre moulds was ordered. By then the three main product groups were rubber components for railways and electrical engineering work, solid tyres and pneumatic bicycle tyres.
The year 1906 was a milestone in the development of the company - sales exceeded £100,000. Avon car tyres were advertised for the first time - in the magazine Autocar. Cycle tyres were selling particularly well and one order from Rudge Whitworth was for 23,000 covers and 40,000 tubes. At the same time an order was won for 10½ miles of window strip. The Managing Director's diary records "60 miles of orders. Not bad for today!"
By now, the Avon workforce numbered over 300. Site improvements included a new compound and rubber stores and a new telephone system and a small depot was opened in London at 31 Brook Street.
1908 was another good year for the company. Sales increased to £145,000 with a profit of £24,285 - this nearly doubled the previous record established in 1907.
On 31 July 1908, the Trilithon (Stonehenge) trademark was registered with the phrase "Symbols of Endurance". It was explained thus: "The adoption of this noble and historical trademark was decided upon in full consciousness of the high standard of excellence which such an emblem implied … because Avon products, in addition to other noble characteristics, possessed in a remarkable degree the two skills of strength and durability."
In 1910, research began into the manufacture of golf balls. They quickly went into manufacture and by 1914, sales of golf balls amounted to £5,000 for the year. Some years later, this profitable business was sold on to Dunlop who still manufacture golf balls today.
When a correspondent from the London Times visited the Melksham site in June 1914 he wrote "a magnificent all-British industry has been developed here from small and humble beginnings into full maturity. Established as a private family concern, it has thriven and prospered to a truly amazing extent. The Melksham factory employs more than a thousand hands … the output of the motor tyre department is enormous."