Mander Brothers
Encyclopedia
Mander Brothers was a major employer in the city of Wolverhampton
, in the English Midlands, a progressive company founded in 1773. In the 19th century the firm became the Number One manufacturers of varnishes, paints and later printing inks in the British Empire
. In the twentieth century it developed its product range in industrial coatings and inks, as well as commercial property.
, where members of the family first developed trades in the manufacture of chemicals and varnishes to supply the Midland Japan trades and national markets.
entered the vanguard of the expansion of Wolverhampton, on the edge of the largest manufacturing conurbation in the British Isles. The brothers Benjamin and John Mander were early industrialists and entrepreneurs, who established a cluster of loosely-integrated businesses in paints, lacquers and pigments, japanning, chemicals manufacture and varnish making.
. They developed businesses in baking, japanning
and tin-plate working, canals and gas manufacture. Benjamin Mander was chairman of the Wolverhampton Union Flour and Bread Company, a co-operative milling company set up to provide subsidised bread and flour in the period of social distress following the Napoleonic Wars
.
The partnership of Mander Brothers was founded by the brothers Charles Benjamin Mander and Samuel Small Mander in 1845, concentrating on varnish manufacture. As the business expanded with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of railways all over the British Empire
, branches and agencies were established in "all the civilised countries of the world". The company diversified into paint and printing ink manufacturer from 1865.
The family became distinguished for public service, art patronage and philanthropy. Charles Tertius Mander
(1852-1929) was created the first baronet of The Mount
in the baronetage of the United Kingdom in the Coronation honours of George V
, on 8 July 1911.
was appointed the first chairman, or "governing director".
Under the chairmanship of the Radical
Liberal
M.P.
, Sir Geoffrey Mander
, Mander Brothers led many progressive initiatives in the field of labour relations and employment welfare between the Wars. Mander Brothers was the first British company to introduce the 40-hour week through an historic agreement signed and mediated by Ernest Bevin
, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union
, in September 1931.
In the mid-twentieth century, constituted as Manders Holdings Limited, the Company redeveloped their historic properties on a four-and-a-half-acre site in the centre of Wolverhampton. In 1968-74 the Company established the Mander Shopping Centre and Mander Square on the site of the early family works dating to the eighteenth century. Today the Mander Centre dominates the retail heart of the city.
In the 1990s, trading as Manders PLC, the various divisions of the business were sold piecemeal in a major Group restructuring in order to focus on the core activity of printing inks and specialty chemicals manufacture. First, the paints and coatings businesses were sold to the Total S.A.
Group; then the property portfolio, including the Mander Centre, was sold to the Prudential
Insurance Company.
Manders PLC went on to acquire a number of the world's leading ink manufacturers, including a major competitor, Croda, trading with operations in the UK, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the USA. In 1994 the Netherlands-based company Premier Inks was acquired, when the major brand became Manders Premier. Manders PLC was established as one of Europe's largest manufacturers and distributors of publishing and industrial inks.
In 1998, the printing inks division was sold to the Flint Ink Corporation
, of Detroit in the United States of America
, "so ending a long chapter in the British chemicals industry" (The Financial Times).
In 2000, Manders Premier adopted the Flint Ink identity of Flint Ink Europe, headquartered in Luxembourg.
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, in the English Midlands, a progressive company founded in 1773. In the 19th century the firm became the Number One manufacturers of varnishes, paints and later printing inks in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. In the twentieth century it developed its product range in industrial coatings and inks, as well as commercial property.
History of Mander Brothers
Mander Brothers has its origins in businesses developed by the Mander family in the Wolverhampton of the early Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, where members of the family first developed trades in the manufacture of chemicals and varnishes to supply the Midland Japan trades and national markets.
18th century
In the early industrial revolution, the Mander familyMander family
The Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life....
entered the vanguard of the expansion of Wolverhampton, on the edge of the largest manufacturing conurbation in the British Isles. The brothers Benjamin and John Mander were early industrialists and entrepreneurs, who established a cluster of loosely-integrated businesses in paints, lacquers and pigments, japanning, chemicals manufacture and varnish making.
19th century
By 1820, the firm traded as Mander, Weaver & Co., already operating one of the largest chemical manufacturing works in the country, trading from the United States of America to ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. They developed businesses in baking, japanning
Pontypool japan
Pontypool japan is a name given to the process of japanning with the use of an oil varnish and heat which is credited to Thomas Allgood of Pontypool. In the late 17th century, during his search for a corrosion-resistant coating for iron, he developed a recipe that included asphaltum, linseed oil...
and tin-plate working, canals and gas manufacture. Benjamin Mander was chairman of the Wolverhampton Union Flour and Bread Company, a co-operative milling company set up to provide subsidised bread and flour in the period of social distress following the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
The partnership of Mander Brothers was founded by the brothers Charles Benjamin Mander and Samuel Small Mander in 1845, concentrating on varnish manufacture. As the business expanded with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of railways all over the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, branches and agencies were established in "all the civilised countries of the world". The company diversified into paint and printing ink manufacturer from 1865.
The family became distinguished for public service, art patronage and philanthropy. Charles Tertius Mander
Charles Tertius Mander
Sir Charles Tertius Mander, 1st Baronet JP, DL, was a Midland manufacturer , philanthropist and public servant, of Wolverhampton, England....
(1852-1929) was created the first baronet of The Mount
Mander Baronets
The Mander baronetcy, of The Mount, Tettenhall Wood, in the County of Staffordshire, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 8 July 1911 in the Coronation honours of King George V, for Sir Charles Tertius Mander, English varnish manufacturer and public servant.-Coat of Arms:Arms:...
in the baronetage of the United Kingdom in the Coronation honours of George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, on 8 July 1911.
20th century
The business was constituted as a limited company, Mander Brothers Limited, in 1923, when Sir Charles Tertius ManderCharles Tertius Mander
Sir Charles Tertius Mander, 1st Baronet JP, DL, was a Midland manufacturer , philanthropist and public servant, of Wolverhampton, England....
was appointed the first chairman, or "governing director".
Under the chairmanship of the Radical
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
M.P.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, Sir Geoffrey Mander
Geoffrey Mander
Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander KB , was a Midland industrialist and chairman of Mander Brothers Ltd., paint and varnish manufacturers in Wolverhampton, England, an art collector and radical parliamentarian....
, Mander Brothers led many progressive initiatives in the field of labour relations and employment welfare between the Wars. Mander Brothers was the first British company to introduce the 40-hour week through an historic agreement signed and mediated by Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. He served as general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1945, as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour Government.-Early...
, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union
Transport and General Workers' Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union, also known as the TGWU and the T&G, was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland - where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union - with 900,000 members...
, in September 1931.
In the mid-twentieth century, constituted as Manders Holdings Limited, the Company redeveloped their historic properties on a four-and-a-half-acre site in the centre of Wolverhampton. In 1968-74 the Company established the Mander Shopping Centre and Mander Square on the site of the early family works dating to the eighteenth century. Today the Mander Centre dominates the retail heart of the city.
In the 1990s, trading as Manders PLC, the various divisions of the business were sold piecemeal in a major Group restructuring in order to focus on the core activity of printing inks and specialty chemicals manufacture. First, the paints and coatings businesses were sold to the Total S.A.
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
Group; then the property portfolio, including the Mander Centre, was sold to the Prudential
Prudential plc
Prudential plc is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.Prudential's largest division is Prudential Corporation Asia, which has over 15 million customers across 13 Asian markets and is a top-three provider of life insurance in mainland China, Hong...
Insurance Company.
Manders PLC went on to acquire a number of the world's leading ink manufacturers, including a major competitor, Croda, trading with operations in the UK, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the USA. In 1994 the Netherlands-based company Premier Inks was acquired, when the major brand became Manders Premier. Manders PLC was established as one of Europe's largest manufacturers and distributors of publishing and industrial inks.
In 1998, the printing inks division was sold to the Flint Ink Corporation
Flint Group
Flint Group, one of the largest suppliers to the printing and packaging industry worldwide, was created by the union of XSYS Print Solutions and Flint Ink Corporation in late 2005. XSYS was the result of a 2004 union between ANI Printing Inks and BASF Printing Systems, both long-standing printing...
, of Detroit in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, "so ending a long chapter in the British chemicals industry" (The Financial Times).
In 2000, Manders Premier adopted the Flint Ink identity of Flint Ink Europe, headquartered in Luxembourg.
Sources
- Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander (ed), The History of Mander Brothers (Wolverhampton, n.d. [1955])
- C. Nicholas Mander, Varnished Leaves: a biography of the Mander Family of Wolverhampton, 1750-1950 (Owlpen Press, 2004)
- Patricia Pegg, A Very Private Heritage: the private papers of Samuel Theodore Mander, 1853-1900 (Malvern: Images Publishing, 1996)