Avon Rubber plc
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| Public (: ) | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | Limpley Stoke (1885) |
| Headquarters | Melksham, Wiltshire, England |
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Key people
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David Evans Chairman |
| Products | Respiratory protection and milking equipment |
| Revenue |
 £160 million |
|
Number of employees
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Approx. 800 |
| Website | www.avon-rubber.com |
Avon Rubber p.l.c. is a British company that specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of respiratory protection equipment for military, law enforcement and fire personnel as well as milking equipment for dairy farmers.
With headquarters in Melksham, Wiltshire, Avon Rubber have manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities in 11 locations worldwide.
In 1933, the company became publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is now a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index.
In 1885 Messrs E G Browne and J C Margetson acquired a rubberized cloth mill, known as Avon Mill, on the banks of the River Avon at Limpley Stoke. The owners of the mill had been timber merchants, but had later diversified into the production of rubber goods.
By 1890 the business had transferred to premises in Melksham in Wiltshire. Products at this time included solid tyres, conveyor belts and components for railways. By 1900 pneumatic tyres for bicycles were being produced, and by 1906 the first car tyres were advertised. In 1915 the company acquired Greenland Mill in Bradford on Avon (Wiltshire). In 1933 the company was floated on the .
In 1956 the rival company of George Spencer Moulton (founded in 1848) was acquired, bringing with it Abbey Mills and Kingston Mills in Bradford on Avon, and a jointly owned plant in Paris. In 1959 production started on a range of inflatable boats.
In 1994 the Llanelli-based marine business Avon Inflatables, Ltd was split-off and sold; since 1998, the company has been a division of Zodiac Marine, France.
In 1997 the Avon Tyres business was sold to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company of Findlay, Ohio in the United States, leaving the company to concentrate on its core businesses of automotive components, technical products and protective equipment. The Cooper Tires site remains a major employer in central Melksham.
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Wikipedia