1919 – At the end of the First World War a long-established firm of varnish makers called Naylor Brothers extended its activities into paint production and moved out of central London to set up a factory in Slough on a 30 acre site. At around the same time in Stowmarket, Nobel Chemical Finishes is working on new Du Pont formulation paints for the growing motor industry and need bigger premises and talented chemists and scientists … The Naylor Brothers’ have a huge 30 acre manufacturing plant and a very, very talented scientist called H.H. Morgan
In the early 1920s - after a disastrous attempt to enter the wallpaper industry - 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.
1926 - Nobel Chemical Finishes joins forces with 3 major British chemical companies and becomes known as ICI Paints Limited.
1931 – The first ‘Dulux’ alkyd-based synthetic finish is produced, based on a new formulation. The brand name ‘Dulux’ was established (a combination of ‘Durable’ and ‘Luxury’).
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.
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 weedkiller Paraquat.
One of the most well-known figures in the history of ICI is it's former chairman John Harvey-Jones, who joined the company upon leaving the Navy in 1956. He worked his way up through the company, becoming Sales Manager in 1965, and joining the main board in 1973. He was Chairman from 1982 to 1987, but is best known for the 1990 TV series 'Troubleshooter'.
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 acquires ICI and Dulux become an important part of the world leading paints and performance coatings company.
In 2011 the Dulux Dog celebrates being 50!
Later that year a spokesperson for AkzoNobel UK said: “The closure of our manufacturing operations in Slough and our investment in a new site in Northumberland was announced in 2011. The factory finally closes in 2018
Most of the plant and equipment was up for an online Auction on THURSDAY 7th JUNE 2018
The explore
Late one night PV and I decided to go and have a look and see what was occurring at the site and what parts we could get to see. After a bit of looking around we find ourselves on site, being dark most parts couldn't be photographed due to the lack of natural light so we just had a mooch around of the next few hours until it got light. We had a few close encounters with secca but luck must have been on our side.
One thing to watch out for is the forklift doors as walking in close proximity sent them flying up and scaring the shit out of us, i think this happened 2 or 3 times. But luckily all was good.
On with the photos
https://flic.kr/p/KX19n5
https://flic.kr/p/26HsdUR
https://flic.kr/p/281DHFo
https://flic.kr/p/26Hsner
https://flic.kr/p/Jr4F5P
Offices/Lab
https://flic.kr/p/Jr4DFr
https://flic.kr/p/285X6rZ
https://flic.kr/p/Jr4zGe
https://flic.kr/p/25k18nf
https://flic.kr/p/26Hs3Gr
https://flic.kr/p/281DuaW
https://flic.kr/p/KWZJ5Y
We then made our way to the churning blocks
https://flic.kr/p/25k13sL
https://flic.kr/p/26HrPKp
https://flic.kr/p/25jZVfE
https://flic.kr/p/281D7Gf
Mixing building - Upstairs
https://flic.kr/p/Jr4dJH
https://flic.kr/p/25jZPXL
https://flic.kr/p/26ZuC1E
https://flic.kr/p/26ZuzFj
https://flic.kr/p/26Zuxh1
https://flic.kr/p/26Hrp8P
https://flic.kr/p/281CJ4u
Mixing building - Downstairs
https://flic.kr/p/281CE2w
https://flic.kr/p/25jZxQ5
https://flic.kr/p/Jr3SjV
https://flic.kr/p/Jr3Qke
Then we made our way in to the next few buildings
https://flic.kr/p/Jr3N5c
https://flic.kr/p/285W74x
Silos
https://flic.kr/p/Jr3Eg6
In the early 1920s - after a disastrous attempt to enter the wallpaper industry - 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.
1926 - Nobel Chemical Finishes joins forces with 3 major British chemical companies and becomes known as ICI Paints Limited.
1931 – The first ‘Dulux’ alkyd-based synthetic finish is produced, based on a new formulation. The brand name ‘Dulux’ was established (a combination of ‘Durable’ and ‘Luxury’).
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.
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 weedkiller Paraquat.
One of the most well-known figures in the history of ICI is it's former chairman John Harvey-Jones, who joined the company upon leaving the Navy in 1956. He worked his way up through the company, becoming Sales Manager in 1965, and joining the main board in 1973. He was Chairman from 1982 to 1987, but is best known for the 1990 TV series 'Troubleshooter'.
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 acquires ICI and Dulux become an important part of the world leading paints and performance coatings company.
In 2011 the Dulux Dog celebrates being 50!
Later that year a spokesperson for AkzoNobel UK said: “The closure of our manufacturing operations in Slough and our investment in a new site in Northumberland was announced in 2011. The factory finally closes in 2018
Most of the plant and equipment was up for an online Auction on THURSDAY 7th JUNE 2018
The explore
Late one night PV and I decided to go and have a look and see what was occurring at the site and what parts we could get to see. After a bit of looking around we find ourselves on site, being dark most parts couldn't be photographed due to the lack of natural light so we just had a mooch around of the next few hours until it got light. We had a few close encounters with secca but luck must have been on our side.
One thing to watch out for is the forklift doors as walking in close proximity sent them flying up and scaring the shit out of us, i think this happened 2 or 3 times. But luckily all was good.
On with the photos
Offices/Lab
We then made our way to the churning blocks
Mixing building - Upstairs
Mixing building - Downstairs
Then we made our way in to the next few buildings
Silos
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