Norcros

1956 The company was formed to acquire companies mainly in family ownership, to allow the owners to continue to have a role in the company whilst avoiding the effect of death duty. Placing of 45 percent of the shares in the company on the Stock Exchange; the company had 2 main subsidiaries - one owning iron ore properties near Scunthorpe (Norinco Ltd); the other was the maker of a specialised label printing machine (Dapag (1943) Ltd). The directors were John Vincent Sheffield, Chairman, Edward Reginald Vincent Sheffield, George Berkeley Sheffield, Commander Colin Buist, Simon Lycett Green.

1956 Acquired Bramigk and Co, maker of machinery for the chocolate and baking trades; and Neil and Spencer, maker of dry-cleaning machinery

1957 Acquired C. E. C. (carrying on business as City Electrical), electrical engineers and contractors; acquired Union Fibres and John Collums, importers and exporters of fibres and waste products, and Relay Vision and 5 of its associated companies, John Tinsley, maker of colliery winding engines, and Wescros Ltd, scrap metal merchants and ship-breakers

1958 Acquired Autotype Co, makers of coated paper for photogravure engravers

1959 Acquired Hygena Ltd, maker of kitchen furniture, and Temperature Ltd together with Island Craft Ltd which were under the same management and, together, were the largest maker of air conditioning units outside the USA. Acquired Jensen Motors Ltd, and S. Maw Son and Sons

1960 Acquired Blythswood Shipbuilding Co and Rotiss-O-Mat and Lantigen (England), maker of vaccines

1960 In order to allow Norcros to concentrate on its larger subsidiaries, a new public company, Southcros Ltd, was incorporated and floated, to handle the smaller companies in the portfolio and others which would have resulted in Norcros having too large a concentration in one industry. Southcros acquired H. J. Reece and Sons Ltd and Aric Ltd and its wholly owned subsidiary B. and R. Patents Ltd. Norcros acquired Fisher Clark, manufacturers and printers of tags, labels, etc, and Harold Wood and Sons, a haulage company. Launched a second associated public company, Scotcros, to handle Scottish businesses

1961 The company consisted of 5 main groups:

• Engineering
• Pharmaceutical products, domestic supplies and food processing equipment
• Specialised papers, printing and labelling
• Commercial transport, coach building, repairs and distribution
• Raw materials

1961 Acquired Sig Wrapping Machines and 51 percent of Bulk Carriers; also acquired Lowton Metals Ltd, Aluminium Ingot Makers Ltd

1962 Rights issue, partly to pay for acquisition of Dow-Mac (Products), maker of concrete products which turned out to be the last major acquisition.

The company found it had to rationalise, putting more emphasis on the profitable subsidiaries, not allow cash to be drained away by the less profitable ones and provide some value from the centre of the group as a benefit of being part of the group

1963 Chairman is John V. Sheffield

1963 Subsidiary Companies are -

• Aluminium Ingot Makers
• Autotype Co
• Blythswood Shipbuilding Co
• Bramigk and Co
• Bulk Carriers (51% owned)
• C. E. C.
• Dow-Mac (Products)
• Fisher Clark and Co
• Hygena
• Jenson Motors
• Lantigen (England)
• Lowton Metals
• S. Maw, Son and Sons
• Neil and Spencer
• Relay Vision
• Rotiss-O-Mat
• Temperature
• Island Craft
• Tickopres
• John Tinsley
• Union Fibres
• Wescros
• Harold Wood and Sons

1964 Sold Relay Vision to Electronic Rentals and General Holdings. Also sold Union Fibres

1965 Sold Harold Wood and Sons of Heckmondwicke, to Pickfords part of the state-owned Transport Holding Company

1968 The programme of rationalisation started some years before was proceeding but was not yet complete; the printing machinery division had been improved and was the largest in its sector in Europe; the construction and engineering divisions had amalgamated their interests and were proceeding towards a more profitable position; rationalisation and improvement of the consumer products division was still work in progress

1972 Edward Bates and Sons bought the 30 percent interest in Scotcros held by the company

1974 Acquired Crittall-Hope Engineering whose window interests were a natural extension of the company's interests; the other activities, in cranes, etc, were attractive because of their specialist nature

1979 Acquired Johnson Richards, tile makers

1983 Made an abortive bid for UBM builders merchants

1985 Succeeded in a later bid for UBM

1988 Sold Butterley Engineering to Haden MacLellan Holdings, Dow-Mac Concrete to Costain, the Canadian Bulk Carriers; also sold UBM Motors, dealers in Ford cars, to Evans Halshaw

1989 Norcros arranged to sell UBM to Meyer International who in turn sold Crosby Manufacturing to Norcros

1995 Sold Crosby Sarek and Crosby Kitchens to Spring Ram Corporation

1995 Also sold Temperature and Security Computing Services. Agreed to sell Cego to Laird

1997 Sold Crittall Holdings and its subsidiaries to the Marmon Corporation of USA.

c.1999 delisted from the Stock Market

2007 Regained stock market listing; building products and printing group; principal businesses were Triton Showers and Johnson Tiles

See Also

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