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Into the New Millennium - Part 1 |
Avon's strategy during recent
years has been to develop the business internationally through
new product development, extensive capital investment and
appropriate acquisitions. This has also included the disposal
of Avon companies which manufactured products which were not
considered to be core to the business, enabling proceeds to
be invested elsewhere to generate a better return for shareholders.
With this in mind, in February 1997, Avon took the bold decision
to announce the sale of its tyre interest to Cooper Tire &
Rubber Company of Findlay, Ohio, USA. This was somewhat ironic
in that 20 years previously, Avon had taught Cooper Tires
how to make radial tyres. Although tyres had been a cornerstone
of Avon's history, it was decided to concentrate resources
on the Automotive Components (which did not include tyres)
and Technical Products divisions where the Board believed
there were significant opportunities for profitable growth.
The £60m sale was concluded in March 1997 and the company
became Cooper-Avon Tyres. The sale included the 35 acre manufacturing
site in Melksham and the Avon Sports & Social Club (Melksham
House). As part of the deal there was an agreement that Avon
Rubber would vacate the Melksham site, which it had owned
for more than 100 years, by March 2000. |
The Hampton Park West facility
under construction |
Over the following three
years, the relocation plan began which included the
building of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing and
office building at Hampton Park West on the outskirts
of Melksham and a Mixing Unit at nearby Westbury. Both
facilities were completed within budget and operational
as promised by March 2000. The £19M showcase development
at Hampton Park West is now the divisional Headquarters
for Avon Technical Products and is still a major employer
in Melksham, while the £13m Mixing Plant at Westbury
has been designed to provide rubber compounds to all
UK and some continental European manufacturing plants
and employs approximately 60 people. |
An aerial view of the completed
building |
During this period,
Avon's strategy of concentrating on core businesses continued.
In August 1997, plans to sell the Kingston Mill site in Bradford
on Avon were unveiled. The 5.5 acre site stands opposite the
current Corporate Headquarters and had been a rubber manufacturing
facility for 144 years, although manufacturing had ceased
on the site in 1992. Taywood Homes are the current owners
and plans are afoot for major re-development into a business,
leisure and housing complex.
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In November 1997,
Avon purchased Zatec Inc. based in Massachusetts, USA. The
company specialises in elastomeric cleaning blades which are
supplied to major manufacturers and distributors of photocopiers,
printers and fax machines. Avon-Ames in the UK had already
been assembling blades in association with Zatec and the move
helped to develop Avon's presence in the European and American
business machine markets.
In March 1998, the Automotive division purchased Cow Polymers
Limited in Croydon for £10.3 million. The company specialised
in the design and manufacture of technical rubber mouldings
for the automotive industry and the move was aimed at enhancing
the European Automotive product range and increasing Avon's
share in the air hose market in Europe. Regrettably, however,
the impact of the continuing weakness of the euro on the UK's
relative competitiveness in Europe resulted in the closure
of the plant some two years later when production was transferred
to plants at Vannes in France and Rudnik in the Czech Republic. |
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