Optimal material solutions
for the benefit of society
Zotefoams plc
Annual Report 2021
Zotefoams plc
Annual Report 2021
1920s
Marshall registers the trademark
Onazote in Great Britain and the USA;
the name derives from the words
ebonite – hardened rubber – and
azote,the French word for nitrogen.
1925 The company name changes
to The Expanded Rubber Company
Limited.
1927
The company moves to a new
home at the 50,000 sq.ft Palace of
Arts at Wembley, constructed for the
1924–25 British Empire Exhibition.
Zotefoams plc is recognised as the world leader in
advanced technical foams. The Company is the direct
descendant of Onazote Limited, the company that
was founded in 1921 and commercialised the world’s
first hard and soft expanded rubber.
Inspired by the work of Hans, Fritz and Herman
Pfleumer – Austrian brothers who had experimented
with expanded rubber as an alternative to pneumatic
tyres – Charles Marshall patented a process to
manufacture expanded rubber.
1925 –
T Wall and Sons
adopts Onazote as
an insulation material
in its new ice cream
business
Fritz Pfleumer
holding a section
of expanded rubber
material used for
tyre filling in 1910
In 1921, Charles
Marshall established
Onazote Limited in
north London
Charles Marshall
Zotefoams plc
Annual Report 2021
1960s
In 1962, Plastazote
®
polyethylene
foam – the foundation of the modern-
day
AZOTE
®
portfolio – is launched,
meeting with immediate success
ina huge range of applications
andindustries.
1968
saw the introduction
of
Evazote
®
EVA copolymer
foam, a further world-class
product, boasting additional
toughness and resilience.
Introducing
Plastazote
®
and
Evazote
®
Zotefoams
materials were
first used in
running shoes in
the 1970s
1950s
Demand for Onazote and Rubazote
continues unabated and new
equipment, a laboratory and the
appointment of agents globally
supports rapid growth of the
business.
The decade is characterised by
innovation, with products such as
Zote
and
Rubacurl introduced for
new areas of application.
A world of
applications
Onazote
lifejacket approved
by the Ministry of
Transport
Early 1950s
–
the Expanded
Rubber Company is
the world’s largest
company solely
manufacturing
expanded
materials
1945
–
Sir Stafford Cripps,
President of the
Board of Trade,
tours the Dundee
factory
1970s
The success and of Plastazote and
Evazote leads to rubber materials
being phased out and the sale of
the expanded polystyrene business.
By the end of the decade, four-
shift working is in place to meet
demand for these materials
across a multitude of markets. The
company is acquired by BP (British
Petroleum) and remained part of the
Chemicals business until 1993.
New ownership
and a farewell to
expanded rubber
1970
–
Jensen specifies
Plastazote for its
impact/energy
absorption
A century
of
innovation...
1930s
In 1935, the company moves
to a former cable works in
Mitcham Road, Croydon,
where
Zotefoams’ headquarters and main
manufacturing site are still located.
Ownership passes to The
St Helens Cable and Rubber
Company in 1938.
New Managing
Director, Henry Shelmerdine,
reorganises and oversees investment
in new equipment.
Within a year, production is running
at
half an imperial ton per week
of Onazote and Rubazote
– hard
and soft expanded rubber.
Success beckons
1940s
New factories help meet demand
for marine buoyancy and aviation
applications.
Aerozote,
for self-sealing aircraft fuel
tanks, is introduced and the company
develops new materials –
Formvar,
an expanded vinyl with great impact
strength and
FUF,
expanded urea-
formaldehyde resin – to counteract the
shortage of natural rubber.
BX Plastics Limited acquires the
company in 1943 and transfers
ownership in 1948 to its parent The
British Xylonite Company Limited.
Innovation and
expansion in
support of
the nation