Gallaher
1857 The business was originally founded by Thomas Gallaher in Derry, Ireland.
By 1896, he had opened the largest tobacco factory in the world in Belfast.
The business was incorporated on 28 March 1896 to "carry on in all their branches the businesses of tobacco, cigar, cigarettes and snuff manufacture".
Formerly produced in London and Dublin, Gallaher's moved its production to Belfast (cigarettes) and Wales (cigars) in the early 1900s.
Brands included: Benson and Hedges, Silk Cut, Sterling, Mayfair, Kensitas, Kensitas Club, Senior Service, Olivier, Du Maurier, Nelson and Park Drive; and in cigars Manikin and King Six and Hamlet Cigars; and amongst tobaccos Two Flakes Tobacco, Gallaher's Condor Sliced, Rich Dark Honeydew, Cope's Escudo, Old Holborn, Amber Leaf, Sobranie.
1896 Incorporated as a Limited Company
1914 Tobacco Manufacturers, York Street, Belfast. Directors: Thomas Gallaher, J.P. (Chairman), W. J. Bell, T. M. Bell. Premises: Cover six acres. Branch Factory: 67, Clerkenwell Road, London, E.C. Curing Warehouses throughout the Tobacco Growing States, where Tobacco is purchased direct from the Growers. Staff: 3,000. Branches: (Warehouses), Liverpool, Dublin, Manchester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol, Limerick. Agencies in Foreign and Colonial Countries. Business: Manufacturers of Tobacco, Cigarettes and Snuff. Patents: Numerous inventions for the improvement of all kinds of Tobacco and Cigarette Machinery.
1928 Incorporated as a public company
1932 Controlling interest acquired by Imperial Tobacco Co
1937 Acquired E. Robinson and Sons together with its associate J. A. Pattreiouex maker of Senior Service cigarettes
Gallaher's had developed its own type of cigarette-making machine, consisting of an imported bed (Muller) and a feed from another manufacturer (American Foundry). Gallaher considered that this combination made better cigarettes than those of any other manufacturer.
WWII Gallaher's foresaw that it might be unwise to rely on the supply of machine beds from Dresden in future and difficult to obtain currency for the purchase of American machines.
1944 Gallaher's acquired Mono Pumps Ltd in order to ensure that company could re-equip its factories after the War[1], even though these companies had no experience of cigarette machinery. This was the start of a range of diversified acquisitions.
1946 Imperial reduced its interest in Gallaher
1962 Acquired John Cotton, C. Fryer and Sons, St. James Tobacco Co and F. L. Smith.[2]
1968 US company American Brands (formerly American Tobacco Co) gained a controlling stake in the company[3]
1968 Acquired J. Wix and Sons.[4]
1970 As part of continued diversification, acquired Dollond and Aitchison [5]
1971 As part of further diversification, acquired Saunders Valve Co[6]
1971 Acquired Clifford Brown Ltd, dispensing opticians, which added to the Dollond and Aitchison business[7]
1973 Acquired Forbuoys newsagents group.[8]
1981 Acquired Ofrex office equipment group[9]
1984 Acquired Prestige Group[10]
1987 Saunders Valve and FIP were sold; Mono Pumps group produced satisfactory results[11]
1995 The entire retail division was sold to its management[12]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times, 22 May 1953
- ↑ Belfast Telegraph - Wednesday 17 July 1968
- ↑ The Times Feb. 28, 1973
- ↑ Belfast Telegraph - Wednesday 17 July 1968
- ↑ The Times Nov. 3, 1970
- ↑ The Times Aug. 10, 1971
- ↑ The Times Apr. 5, 1972
- ↑ The Times Nov. 16, 1973
- ↑ The Times Aug. 19, 1981
- ↑ The Times Mar. 27, 1984
- ↑ The Times Jan. 29, 1988
- ↑ The Times July 25, 1995
- [1] Wikipedia