The History
Way back in 1919 not long after the end of the First World War a long running firm of varnish makers called Naylor Brothers decided to diversify into paint production and moved out of central London to set up a factory in Slough on a new 30 acre site.
At around this time, Nobel Chemical Finishes, in Stowmarket were working on a new range of Du Pont formulation paints for the growing motor industry, They also needed bigger premises and help with their new products. The Naylor Brothers just happened to have what they needed in the form of a huge 30 acre manufacturing plant and a very, very talented scientist called H.H. Morgan
In the early 1920s the Naylor Brothers find themselves in financial difficulty. After lengthy negotiations, Nobel Chemical Finishes acquire Naylor Bros and the newly combined management, production, distribution and sales are concentrated at Slough.
In the late 1920’s Nobel Chemical Finishes joins forces with 3 major British chemical companies and becomes known as ICI Paints Limited.
In the early 1930s ICI bought out a local company, Naylor Brothers (London) Ltd, which had a paint factory in Wexham Road, and from then on has been one of the town's largest employers. The Wexham Road site was expanded in the 1960s and the 1980s.
ICI's best known product is probably Dulux paint, which was introduced in 1953, and the Dulux dog is one of the most easily recognizable characters in British advertising. The breed, the Old English Sheepdog, was fairly uncommon when the Dulux dog first appeared in the 1960s, but due to the influence of the adverts soon gained greatly in popularity.
The first ‘Dulux’ alkyd-based synthetic finish was based on a new formulation. The brand name ‘Dulux’ was established (a combination of ‘Durable’ and ‘Luxury’).
ICI is responsible for over 33,000 patented inventions. Their first great invention was polyethylene, which was discovered in a laboratory accident. Other notable inventions include Perspex, Paludrine (an anti-malaria drug), and the weed killer Paraquat.
In the 1990s the company was split into two. A new company, Zeneca, took on some areas of business, leaving ICI to concentrate on paints and chemicals. ICI Paints are still based in Slough
In 2008 AkzoNobel acquired ICI and Dulux become an important part of the world leading paints and performance coatings company.
The closure of the manufacturing operations in Slough and investment in a new site in Northumberland was announced in 2011.
The factory finally closed in 2018 with the contents being auctioned off in early June 2018
https://www.ppauctions.com/_assets/auctions/231/flysheet/Flysheet.pdf
The Explore
I remember seeing this on the online news a while back and promptly forgot all about it, until I was shown some pictures by someone who was trying to prove that they could find stuff on their own and yup they can.
Then I promptly forgot about it again
Then @Speed stuck the lead up on here and I found myself with a day to kill so headed to the opposite side of the M25 and decided to check it out.
Now on arrival I was a little surprised to see cars and lorries on site, so had a bit of a google search to make sure I had the right place and then went for a wander.
So secca in the hut and the front with a yappy dog made my plans a little more interesting and I ended up bunking into the site from the back, only to find double bubble and spot this too J
So I headed into the site though the various mazes of pipe work and out buildings all with various interesting bits
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Way back in 1919 not long after the end of the First World War a long running firm of varnish makers called Naylor Brothers decided to diversify into paint production and moved out of central London to set up a factory in Slough on a new 30 acre site.
At around this time, Nobel Chemical Finishes, in Stowmarket were working on a new range of Du Pont formulation paints for the growing motor industry, They also needed bigger premises and help with their new products. The Naylor Brothers just happened to have what they needed in the form of a huge 30 acre manufacturing plant and a very, very talented scientist called H.H. Morgan
In the early 1920s the Naylor Brothers find themselves in financial difficulty. After lengthy negotiations, Nobel Chemical Finishes acquire Naylor Bros and the newly combined management, production, distribution and sales are concentrated at Slough.
In the late 1920’s Nobel Chemical Finishes joins forces with 3 major British chemical companies and becomes known as ICI Paints Limited.
In the early 1930s ICI bought out a local company, Naylor Brothers (London) Ltd, which had a paint factory in Wexham Road, and from then on has been one of the town's largest employers. The Wexham Road site was expanded in the 1960s and the 1980s.
ICI's best known product is probably Dulux paint, which was introduced in 1953, and the Dulux dog is one of the most easily recognizable characters in British advertising. The breed, the Old English Sheepdog, was fairly uncommon when the Dulux dog first appeared in the 1960s, but due to the influence of the adverts soon gained greatly in popularity.
The first ‘Dulux’ alkyd-based synthetic finish was based on a new formulation. The brand name ‘Dulux’ was established (a combination of ‘Durable’ and ‘Luxury’).
ICI is responsible for over 33,000 patented inventions. Their first great invention was polyethylene, which was discovered in a laboratory accident. Other notable inventions include Perspex, Paludrine (an anti-malaria drug), and the weed killer Paraquat.
In the 1990s the company was split into two. A new company, Zeneca, took on some areas of business, leaving ICI to concentrate on paints and chemicals. ICI Paints are still based in Slough
In 2008 AkzoNobel acquired ICI and Dulux become an important part of the world leading paints and performance coatings company.
The closure of the manufacturing operations in Slough and investment in a new site in Northumberland was announced in 2011.
The factory finally closed in 2018 with the contents being auctioned off in early June 2018
https://www.ppauctions.com/_assets/auctions/231/flysheet/Flysheet.pdf
The Explore
I remember seeing this on the online news a while back and promptly forgot all about it, until I was shown some pictures by someone who was trying to prove that they could find stuff on their own and yup they can.
Then I promptly forgot about it again
Then @Speed stuck the lead up on here and I found myself with a day to kill so headed to the opposite side of the M25 and decided to check it out.
Now on arrival I was a little surprised to see cars and lorries on site, so had a bit of a google search to make sure I had the right place and then went for a wander.
So secca in the hut and the front with a yappy dog made my plans a little more interesting and I ended up bunking into the site from the back, only to find double bubble and spot this too J
So I headed into the site though the various mazes of pipe work and out buildings all with various interesting bits
[
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