EoW July 2013

wide audience. And in the 21 st century the company was once again helping children to suspend disbelief when it supplied the wire that made the broomsticks fly in Harry Potter.

Tracing the history of Ormiston Wire

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Energy Minister’s visit for launch UK Government Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon MP has formally opened Fenix Fluor Ltd, a multi-million pound joint venture between Mexichem UK Ltd and AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd. Based at Mexichem Fluor’s Rocksavage site in Runcorn, UK, Fenix Fluor will manufacture chlorodifluoromethane, a key raw material in the production of fluoropolymers used in the automotive, aerospace and construction industry. The venture will directly provide up to 20 new jobs, and over 70 construction workers were involved in the refurbishment. The minister said: “The UK’s globally competitive chemicals sector is worth over £40 billion a year and remains a key driver for growth. “It is one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the UK and around 90 per cent of these companies export their sought after products around the world. New projects such as Fenix Fluor demonstrate the confidence that global Ormiston Wire celebrates its 220 th birthday as a thriving business that still provides a dizzying array of wire to any size or length, with facilities for rolling, winding, rewinding, spooling, braiding, bunching, stranding and plastic coating, according to specification. OrmistonWire Ltd – UK Website : www.ormiston-wire.co.uk

Photo: bigstockphoto.com – ‘Big Ben and Westminster Bridge, London, UK’ by Andrey Omelyanchuk

many innovative manufacturers that drove Britain’s industrial revolution. However, there have been ups as well as downs. The 150 th anniversary of the company, which occurred during World War II, was sadly marked by the factory being bombed but, with such a heritage to preserve, the Ormiston family relocated and rebuilt the business. The company was rewarded for its efforts with a boom period during the 1960s and 1970s and it was during this time that Ormiston provided vital support for some of the biggest television stars of the decade. Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds puppets were lifted by Ormiston Wire, bringing the products of the business to a

▲ Pictured, from left, Dave Smith, Mexichem, UK Government Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon MP, and Hiroyuki Okuno, president and CEO, AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd, at the launch of Fenix Fluor Ltd

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July 2013