| Entry Type | Corporate |
| Corporate Name | Courtaulds |
| Place | United Kingdom, Belper, Langley Mill |
| Epithet | textile and chemical manufacturer |
| Dates | 1794- |
| History | Manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. The world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds plc and Courtaulds Textiles Ltd. Owned subsidiaries in Derbyshire including Meridian Leisurewear at Heanor.
Courtaulds is one of world's best-known textile manufacturers. The company began life as George Courtauld & Co., founded in 1794 in Essex.
George Brettle & Co.: This company was based in Belper and had been founded in 1801 as Ward, Sharp & Co. The name George Brettle & Co. was used from 1834.
Kayser-Bondor: The Kayser brand name was originally used by the American firm of Julius Kayser & Co., which joined forces in Britain with the Full-Fashioned Hosiery Company in 1936 as Kayser-Bondor Ltd.
Aristoc: This company grew out of a hosiery factory opened in Langley Mill by A. E. Allen and Co of Leicester in 1919. The company registered the trademark "Aristoc" in 1924, and began to promote this new brand name from 1926. In 1934, A. E. Allen became a public limited company, Aristoc PLC.
In the 1990s, Courtauld's closed the Aristoc site at Langley Mill, and moved production to Belper. |
| Key Events | 1964: acquisition of George Brettle & Co.
1966: acquisitions of Kayser-Bondor and Aristoc |
| Authorised Form of Name | United Kingdom, Belper, Langley Mill; Courtaulds; 1794-; textile and chemical manufacturer |
Show related Catalog records.