Frederick Wood (industrialist)

Sir Frederick ("Fred") Ambrose Stuart Wood (30 May 1926 - 9 March 2003) was a prominent businessman and industrialist most renowned for overseeing the rapid growth of Croda International.

Fred Wood was born on 30 May 1926 in Goole, Yorkshire. Fred attended Felsted School subsequently gaining a place to study at Clare College, University of Cambridge, his time at which was cut short by military service obligations. In 1944 he joined the Fleet Air Arm, a branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft, completing his training in America and the Caribbean.

In 1925 Wood's great uncle, George Crowe entered into a partnership to produce lanolin, a fatty substance found in sheep's wool used widely as a base ingredient in lubricants and cosmetics. This new enterprise was named Croda and established at Rawcliffe Bridge, outside Goole, Yorkshire. In 1927 Fred's father, Philip Wood became the manager of the new factory and made improvements to the production process, during the 1930s, to satisfy meet growing demand for lanolin.

Following his demobilisation in 1947 Fred Wood returned to join Croda as a management trainee. When Philip died two years later in 1949, aged 46, a committee of directors assumed responsibility for managing the business, with Fred acting as sales director. A year later, in 1950, Fred re-located to New York City to establish an overseas office. Fred quickly established a US business with turnover of over £100,000 and three years later, aged 27, returned to the UK to assume the position of Managing Director, with the support of Chairman George Crowe.

Croda was still a relatively modest enterprise however Wood returned from his time overseas with what he termed "a dose of profit orientation" and ambitious growth plans for Croda. He concentrated company strategy on specialised high-margin products – in particular ingredients for premium beauty products – and move away from low-margin, high-volume production of lanolin. As Croda began to grow quickly it moved to its current headquarters at Cowick Hall, a Georgian mansion in Snaith, Yorkshire.

During his time in abroad Wood had also developed a fondness for American style which quickly made him a recognisable figure in 1950s Yorkshire. He owned a yellow Buick convertible, and learnt to pilot the company plane. Well-tailored and tall he quickly developed a reputation as a dynamic business leader. At one time Fred harboured political ambitions however an unsuccessful experience as a Conservative Party parliamentary candidate for Middlesbrough East in 1962 and again in 1964 convinced him to re-focus his energy on Croda.

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