Nylex

Last updated

Nylex Limited
Company type Public limited company
Industry Conglomerate Plastics manufacturer
Founded1927
Founder John Derham
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Key people
 Peter Derham, (Chairman)
Alan Jackson, (CEO and Chairman)
Products
  • Plastics
  • appliances
  • gardening tools
Revenue A$6.7 billion (1994) [1] [2]
Total assets A$11.8 billion (1995) [3] [4]
Number of employees
~12,000 (1987) [1]
Parent BTR plc
AMES Australasia
Website www.nylex.com.au

Nylex Plastics, founded in 1927, is an Australian manufacturer of a range of plastic goods. It was originally called the Australian Moulding Corporation but changed its name in 1948. The founder was John Derham. [5] [6] During the period between 1990 and 2009, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and was considered to be the largest manufacturing company in Australia and in the top 25 largest companies in the country. [7] It continues to operate in the form of its gardening products branch, which produces and sells plastic gardening products throughout Australia using the Nylex branding. A company that was previously a subsidiary, Nylex (Malaysia) Berhard, also still operates.

Contents

History

Derham era

The Nylex brand has its origins with the Australian Moulding Corporation in 1927. This was a plastics manufacturing firm, founded by John Derham in Mentone, Melbourne in 1927. [8] A rival company, Moulded Products, started in 1931, and Derham sold his company to it, while himself getting a share of Moulded Products. He then later gained control of all of Moulded Products with some colleagues, thus ending up with both companies. [9]

The company expanded to make a range of products, and in World War Two produced plastic radio receivers and Army crash helmets (such as the M42 Duperite helmet). The demand for products during WW2 saw a lot of innovation as the company expanded into producing different types of plastics, including PVC and polymers. [10] Specific innovations for the military at the time included PVC copolymer solution for moisture-proofing rifles, PVC wire coating, moisture proof striking surfaces for matches. [11]

The company started producing garden products in the 1950s. [12] Australian Moulding Corporation became Nylex. Derham died in 1957, and the company was eventually managed by his son, Peter Derham in 1967. [13] Peter Derham worked with the company for most of his life [14] and other family members managing various parts of the business. Nylex was eventually purchased by Australian Consolidated Industries (ACI).

BTR era

Nylex was purchased by British company BTR Hopkins in 1984 from ACI. In 1988, however, Jackson took over the Australian Consolidated Industries Limited (ACI) itself for a takeover of roughly $1.6 billion, following the share market crash. [15] BTR, then a large global concern headed by Alan Jackson, re-branded the company as BTR Nylex. Under BTR, the company again expanded, with BTR Nylex being the Asian headquarters and central focus point for multiple BTR acquisitions within Asia, including in Malaysia. During this period, BTR Nylex purchased a number of important Asian business operating in related fields, including purchases of plastics companies e.g. China General Plastics in Taiwan [16] and Japan, and a 51% stake in Nylex Malaysia. [17] Jackson improved BTR Nylex's operations in Asia, greatly expanding the business into expanding areas, including recycling PET bottle and glass operations, and the purchase of Formica in the United States. [18] His results in the Asian sector saw him appointed to London to manage the global BTR business, applying his same strategies of success in 1991. While CEO of BTR and Nylex in 1995, Jackson completed the full takeover of Nylex. The remaining 37% of the company that BTR did not own was to be purchased. Jackson bought it for $4.48 billion. In that same year, Nylex was estimated to be worth $11.8 billion. [3] [16]

Austrim era

Jackson later moved to another company, Austrim, after leaving BTR as its CEO. Austrim, having expanded under Jackson's strategic direction, acquired Nylex in October 1998 for A$63 million, [19] when BTR completely collapsed. The same man who had previously purchased the company representing BTR, was now representing Austrim in the purchase. However, the purchase was not as costly as before because BTR had sold off part of the company following Jackson's retirement from BTR in 1996. The company became at that point Austrim Nylex, which was then simplified to Nylex once again, with Jackson commenting that the Nylex brand in Australia was better known compared to Austrim, and this could help the business further grow. [20] [21] Austrim Nylex eventually owned 30 major brands in Australia, including control of many textile companies, but profit margins had become thin and large amounts of borrowing, to expand the company in a short period of time, led the company to begin be unable to pay back its loans. Jackson stayed with the company, eventually leaving in 2001. Following this, the company began decreasing in profit margins and got furthered indebted as a result. The subsequent chief executives could not turn the tides of Nylex's trajectory. [22] The company remained roughly in that same form until the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2007 and 2008. [23]

Products

Kitchenware, light fittings and other household products were produced under the Duperite brand throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Nylex also produced products under the Melmac brand.

Nylex's brightly colored Bessemer line of informal tablewares was common in Australian homes in the 1960s. [24] Nylex started making plastic Esky products (originally produced by Malleys) in 1984. [25] By the time of collapse the company was producing a range of products including garden hose, Esky Coolers, floor tiles, car trim and parts, fuel tanks and water tanks. [26]

Esky coolers were particular well known in Australia, and were an iconic Australian brand, the name used in Australia as a general term for a hamper cooler.

Nylex Clock

Nylex moved to Cremorne Street, Richmond, in the 1950s, and John Derham's office overlooked the Silos. Derham realised it would be a prominent spot for promotion of his company, which at that time was expanding and the publicity would be beneficial. He decided to move ahead with putting a Neon sign on the silos, ultimately concluded by his son Peter Derham. At the time the staff referred to it as "Derham's folly" and it was seen as a waste of money, but ultimately it became a famous landmark promoting the Nylex brand. [14] The Nylex Clock, erected in 1961, remains a prominent feature of the Melbourne skyline, visible from various parts of Melbourne, including the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Company collapse

The company went into liquidation in 2009, [27] after it failed to pay finance on A$60 million worth of debt. The receivership was handled by Ferrier Hodgson, and the company continued to trade throughout the process. [28] At the time it had 8 subsidiaries, some producing garden hose, Esky Coolers, film and plastic car parts and water tanks.

There were a number of reasons for the company's collapse. The company was competing with cheap Asian plastic imports. In the BTR and Austrim eras, the company had expanded exponentially, but this had cut down profit margins. The company also, under Alan Jackson, had moved into purchasing businesses in loss making sectors, including textiles, which were suffering huge downturns at the time. The company owned major iconic Australian brands but was unable to use them to generate cash to sustain the company.

The company had benefited from water tank arm of its business, which had received subsidies because of a drought, but when the drought broke Government subsidies stopped, and then tanks started being imported from Asia. In additions, the hard times in the car industry affected Nylex's car part business. The company had seen write downs for many of its businesses and had been supported by people like Kerry Stokes who had helped the business while others had pulled out. In addition to this, the overall Global Financial Collapse had taken its toll on the company.

At the time of collapse, it owed A$100 million to creditors. Some of the businesses were sold on at the time of collapse. [26] Esky coolers, a popular brand of lunch cooler, was sold to US company Colemans [29] [30] Most of its industrial/commercial real estate was sold off, much of it being turned into residential apartments. The large Mentone site, which had previously housed 1000 workers, was sold off for part commercial, part residential, though a heritage protected Nylex sign remains [9]

Current operations

The Nylex brand continues to exist, selling plastic garden hose and garden products throughout Australia, through large hardware outlets. [31] The company supports cricket in Australia, sponsoring the Melbourne Renegades. [32] The company is currently owned by AMES Australasia since a 2014 acquisition that cost A$36 million. This included other companies as well as Nylex during this purchase. [5]

A company previously owned by BTR Nylex as a subsidiary, Nylex (Malaysia) Berhad, operates as a major plastics manufacturing concern in Malaysia.

Related Research Articles

BTR plc was a British multinational industrial conglomerate company. It was headquartered in London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amcor</span> Packaging company

Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nylex Clock</span> Heritage listed advertising sign in Melbourne, Australia

The Nylex Clock is heritage listed as an iconic feature of Melbourne and is considered part of the popular culture of the city. It is neon sign sitting atop malting storage silos in the suburb of Cremorne, Victoria, Australia. It is located adjacent to the northern bank of the Yarra River and the Monash Freeway and displays the time and temperature alternately. The text also alternates displaying the words 'Nylex Plastics' that changes to 'Nylex Every Time!'. It is visible from many parts of Melbourne, particularly the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This linkage is referred to in the song "Leaps and Bounds" by musician Paul Kelly and was once climbed by Brisbane-based activists Freshellen Frew, Ag Heard and several other Melbourne-based activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooler</span> Insulated box used to keep food or drink cool

A cooler, portable ice chest, ice box, cool box, chilly bin, or esky (Australia) is an insulated box used to keep food or drink cool.

Esky is a brand of portable coolers, originally Australian, derived from the word "Eskimo". The term "esky" is also commonly used in Australia to generically refer to portable coolers or ice boxes and is part of the Australian vernacular, in place of words like "cooler" or "cooler box" and the New Zealand "chilly bin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berry Global</span> Plastic packaging manufacturer

Berry Global Group, Inc. is a Fortune 500 global manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, it has over 265+ facilities across the globe and more than 46,000+ employees With $14+ billion in revenues in fiscal year 2022, the company is one of the largest Indiana headquartered company in Fortune Magazine’s ranking. The company changed its name from Berry Plastics to Berry Global in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolworths Supermarkets</span> Australian multinational supermarket chain owned by Woolworths Group

Woolworths Supermarkets is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths today is Australia's biggest supermarket chain with a market share of 33% as of 2019.

The Smorgon family is a Jewish-Australian business family known for their establishment of Smorgon Steel.

Essentra PLC is a supplier of plastic and fibre products. The company operates internationally from headquarters in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Griffon Corporation is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York City. The company conducts its operations through five subsidiaries: The AMES Companies, ClosetMaid, Clopay Building Products, and CornellCookson. Griffon has been publicly traded since 1961 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a component stock of the S&P SmallCap 600, S&P Composite 1500, and Russell 2000 indices.

Bendigo Workshops is a railway workshop in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north of the city beside the junction of the Yungera and Deniliquin railway lines. The site covers 10.3 hectares of land and has 31 separate buildings, including a 10,000 sqm main workshop building and six kilometres of railway track.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group was an American multinational soft drink company based in Plano, Texas. Since July 2018, it is a business unit of the publicly-traded conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper.

Pacific Dunlop was a highly diversified Australian conglomerate company that operated in, among other things, the Automotive, textile, electronics and biotechnology industries. Products commercialised included tires, car batteries, cables, clothing, electronics, bedding, condoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ames True Temper</span> Manufacturing company which produces non-powered lawn and garden products

Ames True Temper is a multinational corporation headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation. Ames True Temper specializes in the manufacture of non-powered lawn and garden products. Their manufacturing plant is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and produces 85% of the wheelbarrows in the United States and Canada producing 1.7 million wheelbarrows each year. The Harrisburg plant has been in continual operation since 1876.

Ansell Limited is an Australian company which makes gloves and other personal protection equipment, primarily from latex and rubber. The products are designed for healthcare professionals, industrial workers, and end consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schlegel International</span>

Schlegel International is a multi-national company based in the United Kingdom that makes seals for windows and doors, and supplies related hardware. The company was founded in Rochester, New York in the 1880s as a narrow-loom weaving operation. By 1988 it had manufacturing facilities in twelve countries, making seals for windows and doors in buildings and automobiles. That year it was acquired by BTR plc of the United Kingdom. In 1997 the Schlegel operations were acquired by UniPoly S.A. in a BTR management buy-out. From 2006 Schlegel International, with manufacturing operations in Europe, Australia and Brazil, was a subsidiary of Lupus Capital, now called Tyman plc. The Schlegel brand is also used for products made near Rochester, New York, by Schlegel International's North American sister company AmesburyTruth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling in Australia</span> Method of waste management in Australia

Recycling in Australia is a widespread, and comprehensive part of waste management in Australia, with 60% of all waste collected being recycled. Recycling is collected from households, commercial businesses, industries and construction. Despite its prominence, household recycling makes up only a small part (13%) of Australia's total recycling. It generally occurs through kerbside recycling collections such as the commingled recycling bin and food/garden organics recycling bin, drop-off and take-back programs, and various other schemes. Collection and management of household recycling typically falls to local councils, with private contractors collecting commercial, industrial and construction recycling. In addition to local council regulations, legislation and overarching policies are implemented and managed by the state and federal governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Jackson (businessman)</span> Australian business executive and director (1936–2018)

Alan Robert JacksonAO FCA FCPA FAIM CBIM was an Australian businessman who was the CEO of BTR Nylex between 1984 and 1991 and CEO of BTR plc between 1991 and 1996 as well as Chairman of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) between 1995 and 2001. He was also a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) between 1991 and 2001.

Frederick John Walcott Derham was an Australian entrepreneurial businessman who founded what would become known as Nylex Plastics in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">REDcycle</span> Australian soft plastic recycling program

The RedCycle or REDcycle program was an Australian soft plastic recycling program started in 2010 by RG Programs and Services and suspended in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 Henningham, Leigh (17 August 1987). "BTR Nylex thrives as frugal 'lean machine'". The Herald .
  2. ↑ Clark, Colin, Timothy Geer, and Barry Underhill (1996). "THE CHANGING of AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING". Australian Government . Retrieved 31 January 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 "U.K.'s BTR Launches Startling Takeover Bid For Rest of BTR Nylex". The Wall Street Journal . 24 July 1995. p. 3. ProQuest   308233965.
  4. ↑ Reier, Sharon (20 July 1993). "The Man From Melbourne". Financial World – Europe's CEO of the Year. ProQuest   225629264.
  5. 1 2 "Nylex - AMES Australasia". AMES Australasia . 14 June 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Centre, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research. "Nylex Corporation Pty Ltd - Corporate entry - Encyclopedia of Australian Science". www.eoas.info. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Nylex Limited (ASX:NLX)".
  8. ↑ Centre, Australian Science and Technology Heritage. "Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Chapter 9, page 662". ISBN 0908029497 . Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Nylex and Mentone | Kingston Local History". localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  10. ↑ Centre, Australian Science and Technology Heritage. "Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Chapter 9, page 662". ISBN 0908029497 . Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ↑ Centre, Australian Science and Technology Heritage. "Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Chapter 9, page 662". ISBN 0908029497 . Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Nylex". AMES Australasia. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "Sir Peter John Derham AC, K.St.J. | Melbourne Grammar School". mgs.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  14. 1 2 Stewart, Sally (25 September 2008). "High achiever who never said never". The Age. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "IN BRIEF". The Australian. 10 August 2018. p. 26. ProQuest   2085797915.
  16. 1 2 "Jackson aims for BTR Nylex on the cheap". Australian Financial Review. 7 August 1995. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  17. ↑ "Nylex takeover looking like worldwide clean-up". Australian Financial Review. 24 July 1995. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  18. ↑ "AUSTRALIA'S BTR NYLEX TO ACQUIRE FORMICA". Plastics News. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Mayne Report - The day Alan Jackson lost his cool". www.maynereport.com. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  20. ↑ Mayne, Stephen (22 October 1998). "The day Alan Jackson lost his cool". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  21. ↑ Ian, Porter (2 September 2003). "Symbolism Rules As Nylex Rises From The Corporate Graveyard". The Age. p. 1.
  22. ↑ Porter, Ian (2 September 2003). "Nylex to be reincarnated as Austrim sheds its past along with $72m loss". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 23. ProQuest   363827822.
  23. ↑ "Nylex: from household name to oblivion". Australian Financial Review. 21 February 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  24. ↑ "A Modern Life: Tablewares 1930s – 1980s | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  25. ↑ "Esky auto box invented by Malleys - Australian food history timeline". Australian Food Timeline. 18 September 1950. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  26. 1 2 Smith, Michael (4 August 2009). "Miners look to buy Nylex's listed shell". The Australian Financial Review. p. 46.
  27. ↑ Rawlinson, Clare (29 January 2015). "Iconic Melbourne clock makes mysterious return to life". ABC News. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  28. ↑ "Esky-maker Nylex goes into receivership". ABC News. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  29. ↑ Newton, John (12 October 2002). "Playing it cool". Sydney Morning Herald.
  30. ↑ "Esky no longer dinky-di". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  31. ↑ "Nylex". AMES Australasia. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  32. ↑ "Nylex makes a splash with the Renegades". Melbourne Renegades. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.