Turner & Newall
Encyclopedia
Turner & Newall was a leading manufacturing business based in Manchester
, United Kingdom
. At its peak, it was a constituent of the FT30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange
.
as Turner Brothers by John, Robert and Samuel Turner to manufacture cotton cloth based packaging.
In 1879 it became the first business in the United Kingdom
to weave asbestos
cloth with power-driven machinery, and the company changed its name to Turner Brothers Asbestos Company.
Shortly before World War I
the business opened an asbestos
cement
plant at Trafford Park
. One of its major products was Trafford Tile asbestos cement sheets, which were widely used for roof and wall construction in industrial and agricultural buildings.
in that year. The company's Turnall brandname is a contraction of Turner & Newall.
The third (Sir) Samuel Turner (1878-1955) was chairman from 1929 to 1944: he endowed a School of Industrial Administration
at Manchester Municipal College of Technology
as well as a Dental School at the Victoria University of Manchester
(the Dental School and Hospital donation was £99,000) The company's development under the third Samuel was rapid: it acquired Bells' United Asbestos Companies and several asbestos insulation companies in the UK.
The company operated a plant in Leeds
where the Armley asbestos disaster occurred and which only closed in 1959.
From 1939 until 2001, the company operated an asbestos mine at Havelock in Bulembu
in the Kingdom of Swaziland
, Southern Africa. Since the company left, former employees have experienced sickness in their lungs because they lacked safety-wear to protect them from the hazardous material. The miners of Havelock have recently failed in their efforts to bring a legal action in Britain against the company. The attitude of management, combined with the absence of trade unions or an effective regulatory authority meant that work conditions at Havelock were harsh.
It moved its Head Office to Manchester
in 1949.. After World War II
it diversified into components for the automotive industry including gaskets.
In 1953, the company bought Porters Cement Industries Ltd, a major producer of chrysotile
asbestos products, based in Harare
and Bulawayo
in Zimbabwe
, and changed its name to Turnall Fibre Cement (Pvt) Ltd. Turnall Fibre Cement Ltd still operates in Zimbabwe but as an independent company, mainly producing asbestos cement sheets and pipes. According to the company, "there is not an industrial, agricultural or residential area of Zimbabwe
that does not have one or more of the company's many [asbestos cement] products in use or on display".
which itself got into financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 11 protection as a result of asbestos
claims. In the United Kingdom
the business went into administration in October 2001 leaving a pension fund deficit estimated at £
400 million. UK victims of the company's asbestos pollution, such as those near to the former J.W. Roberts factory in Armley
, Leeds
, were offered a fraction of the compensation to which they were entitled.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. At its peak, it was a constituent of the FT30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
1871-1920
The business was founded in 1871 in RochdaleRochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
as Turner Brothers by John, Robert and Samuel Turner to manufacture cotton cloth based packaging.
In 1879 it became the first business in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to weave asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
cloth with power-driven machinery, and the company changed its name to Turner Brothers Asbestos Company.
Shortly before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the business opened an asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
plant at Trafford Park
Trafford Park
Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located opposite Salford Quays, on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, it is west-southwest of Manchester city centre, and north of Stretford. Until the late 19th century it was the...
. One of its major products was Trafford Tile asbestos cement sheets, which were widely used for roof and wall construction in industrial and agricultural buildings.
1920-2001
In 1920 it merged with the Washington Chemical Company, Newalls Insulation Company and J. W. Roberts to become Turner & Newall and became listed on the London Stock ExchangeLondon Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in that year. The company's Turnall brandname is a contraction of Turner & Newall.
The third (Sir) Samuel Turner (1878-1955) was chairman from 1929 to 1944: he endowed a School of Industrial Administration
Manchester Business School
Manchester Business School is the largest department of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. According to Bloomberg Business Week's ranking of the world's best business schools the MBS MBA is ranked third in the world...
at Manchester Municipal College of Technology
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
as well as a Dental School at the Victoria University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
(the Dental School and Hospital donation was £99,000) The company's development under the third Samuel was rapid: it acquired Bells' United Asbestos Companies and several asbestos insulation companies in the UK.
The company operated a plant in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
where the Armley asbestos disaster occurred and which only closed in 1959.
From 1939 until 2001, the company operated an asbestos mine at Havelock in Bulembu
Bulembu
Bulembu is a small town located in northwestern Hhohho, Swaziland, 10 km west of the town of Piggs Peak. Located above the Komati Valley in Swaziland’s Highveld, Bulembu is named after the siSwati word for a spider's web....
in the Kingdom of Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Southern Africa. Since the company left, former employees have experienced sickness in their lungs because they lacked safety-wear to protect them from the hazardous material. The miners of Havelock have recently failed in their efforts to bring a legal action in Britain against the company. The attitude of management, combined with the absence of trade unions or an effective regulatory authority meant that work conditions at Havelock were harsh.
It moved its Head Office to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1949.. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it diversified into components for the automotive industry including gaskets.
In 1953, the company bought Porters Cement Industries Ltd, a major producer of chrysotile
Chrysotile
Chrysotile or white asbestos is the most commonly encountered form of asbestos, accounting for approximately 95% of the asbestos in place in the United States and a similar proportion in other countries. It is a soft, fibrous silicate mineral in the serpentine group of phyllosilicates; as such, it...
asbestos products, based in Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
and Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, and changed its name to Turnall Fibre Cement (Pvt) Ltd. Turnall Fibre Cement Ltd still operates in Zimbabwe but as an independent company, mainly producing asbestos cement sheets and pipes. According to the company, "there is not an industrial, agricultural or residential area of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
that does not have one or more of the company's many [asbestos cement] products in use or on display".
Demise of the business
In 1998 the business was acquired by Federal-MogulFederal-Mogul
Federal-Mogul Corporation is a global automotive supplier based in Southfield, Michigan, USA. It is one of the leading engine-parts suppliers in the United States, including engine bearings, pistons, piston pins, piston rings, cylinder liners, valve seats and guides, transmission products and...
which itself got into financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 11 protection as a result of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
claims. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the business went into administration in October 2001 leaving a pension fund deficit estimated at £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
400 million. UK victims of the company's asbestos pollution, such as those near to the former J.W. Roberts factory in Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, were offered a fraction of the compensation to which they were entitled.