History
Fisons PLC was made up of many constituent parts and had absorbed other companies over the years. Prior to 1942 it was known as Fisons, Packard and Prentice Ltd (FPP), these three main companies having amalgamated in 1929 during the agricultural depression. Edward Packard was one of the pioneers of manufacturing chemical fertilisers and built at Bramford the first complete acid and superphosphate factory in the 1850’s. His son, also Edward, carried on the business which grew and was incorporated in 1895 as Edward Packard and Co Ltd, with a capital of £100,000.
In the early 1980s the company decided to focus on pharmaceutical products and its fertiliser activities were sold to Norsk Hydro in 1982.
Many years of successful growth were financed by sales of sodium cromoglycate in a variety of formulations used to treat asthma and allergies of the eye among several disease areas. However, the loss of lucrative product licences for Opticrom and Imferon in the USA in 1991 and the failure of clinical trials for Tipredane, an asthma drug, in 1993 revealed bleak prospects for the business.
In early 1995 the Instruments Division was sold to US Thermo Instrument Systems while the research and development facilities in Loughborough and Rochester, New York, with their pipelines were acquired by the Swedish company Astra AB.
In late 1995 Fisons was acquired by the United States-based Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., which in turn was wholly owned by France's chemical giant Rhone-Poulenc S.A.
The site was fully shutdown by 2002.
The Explore
Visited with @porkerofthenight . After a certain event on the beers the night before we were feeling a little worse for wear in the morning so decided to take a chilled wander after a big fry up to this place to let the hangover pass before heading home. The old section is wonderful, even though it is gutted the inner structure is all in tact, wooden beams, stair sets and the old original metal and wooden chutes. Surprisingly this building is mostly untouched by vandals which is amazing for a near on walk in explore. After a couple of hours and some fresh air we decided to head off.
On to the pictures,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. If you was wondering on the third photo, yes was the answer
Cheers for having a ganders
Fisons PLC was made up of many constituent parts and had absorbed other companies over the years. Prior to 1942 it was known as Fisons, Packard and Prentice Ltd (FPP), these three main companies having amalgamated in 1929 during the agricultural depression. Edward Packard was one of the pioneers of manufacturing chemical fertilisers and built at Bramford the first complete acid and superphosphate factory in the 1850’s. His son, also Edward, carried on the business which grew and was incorporated in 1895 as Edward Packard and Co Ltd, with a capital of £100,000.
In the early 1980s the company decided to focus on pharmaceutical products and its fertiliser activities were sold to Norsk Hydro in 1982.
Many years of successful growth were financed by sales of sodium cromoglycate in a variety of formulations used to treat asthma and allergies of the eye among several disease areas. However, the loss of lucrative product licences for Opticrom and Imferon in the USA in 1991 and the failure of clinical trials for Tipredane, an asthma drug, in 1993 revealed bleak prospects for the business.
In early 1995 the Instruments Division was sold to US Thermo Instrument Systems while the research and development facilities in Loughborough and Rochester, New York, with their pipelines were acquired by the Swedish company Astra AB.
In late 1995 Fisons was acquired by the United States-based Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., which in turn was wholly owned by France's chemical giant Rhone-Poulenc S.A.
The site was fully shutdown by 2002.
The Explore
Visited with @porkerofthenight . After a certain event on the beers the night before we were feeling a little worse for wear in the morning so decided to take a chilled wander after a big fry up to this place to let the hangover pass before heading home. The old section is wonderful, even though it is gutted the inner structure is all in tact, wooden beams, stair sets and the old original metal and wooden chutes. Surprisingly this building is mostly untouched by vandals which is amazing for a near on walk in explore. After a couple of hours and some fresh air we decided to head off.
On to the pictures,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. If you was wondering on the third photo, yes was the answer
Cheers for having a ganders
Last edited:
