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Gas Mask production in the
1950s
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The post war years
were a period of rapid growth which saw Avon transformed from
a single company to a group of companies. In 1951 a factory
was opened at Bridgend in South Wales to manufacture gas masks
which were being stockpiled for the Government. By 1954, 1,000
people, over half of them women, were employed at the plant
which, at the peak of production could produce over 50,000
gas masks in a week.
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The 1950s marked several interesting developments.
Following World War 2, Europe was trying to rebuild. Nearly
everything they needed came from the United States and was
paid for in dollars. This caused a dollar shortage in Europe.
Because of this, an arrangement was made in 1952 with Sieberling
Tyres of Akron, USA, for Avon to manufacture their giant
car tyres at Melksham for export to Sieberling's non-US
customers who, because of the dollar shortage, found it
easier to pay in Sterling.
At the same time, the first Avon tyre
was manufactured in Sweden. A/B Gummifabrik made an agreement
to manufacture Avon tyres. This meant that the heavy cost
of transport and potential importation problems into Sweden
were no longer a hindrance
In July 1953, a tyre remoulding factory
was opened in Nairobi, Kenya and later extended to take
in the production of cycle tyres and footwear components
such as resin soles which could be marketed in the "Near
East".
Also that year, in August, the City
of Bath commissioned Avon to provide white rubber road marking
blocks on all roads in the city for permanent delineation
of bus stops, halt lines and the broken white lines along
the centre of roads.
In 1956, when George Spencer Moulton
and Company was acquired, the pioneers of the rubber industry
in the West of England were united. Founded at Bradford
on Avon in 1848 by Stephen Moulton, the company had achieved
world renown for the design and development of its products
for the railway industry. Subsequently, automobile and aircraft
products had been developed, as well as tennis balls. The
acquisition included the jointly owned French company, Societé
Française des Caôutchoucs Spencer Moulton,
located in Paris and later moved to its present site in
Malesherbes where it is now known more simply as Avon Spencer
Moulton. It also included Abbey Mills and Kingston Mills
in Bradford on Avon.
It was in 1956 that the Group decided
to implement what was then considered at the time to be
the largest project in its history - the modernisation and
expansion of its complete tyre manufacturing processes.
This was successfully carried out over a 5-year period and
productivity was increased by 50 per cent.
Also in 1956, Avon acquired J W &
T Connolly of High Wycombe, manufacturers of wheels, hubs
and axles for the agricultural industry.
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In 1957 Avon bought Henley's Tyre and Rubber
Company of Gravesend, Kent and the manufacture of Henley
tyres was transferred to Melksham.
Avon's entry into the highly demanding
sport of motor and motorcycle racing led to a long-lasting
association with Geoff Duke and other leading international
riders and drivers. As early as 1951, his outstanding career
was already going from strength to strength on his Avon-shod
Norton motorcycles which had established him as Number one
in the World. In the six years 1958-63 every world solo
motorcycle champion chose Avon tyres and many world records
were broken by machines fitted with Avon tyres, including
the Le Mans 24-hour race and the World Sports Car Championships
won by Aston Martin.
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Geoff Duke |
