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The Early Years - Part 2 |
| 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. |
Mr
G P Fuller, J.P.
Came
to Avon's financial aid in 1896
Company
Chairman March 1899 - March 1927
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| 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
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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).
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