Johnson Matthey Plc history

In 1833 production of silver nitrate began, its use being primarily for medical purposes in the form of lunar caustic.

In 1838 George Matthey joined the company as an apprentice.

Twenty-five people were employed in 1860, with a trio of partners who dominated the firm's development over the next four decades: George Matthey, his younger brother Edward Matthey, and John Sellon--Percival Johnson's nephew.

1891: Johnson Matthey is incorporated as Johnson, Matthey & Co.

In 1894 the cartel was formalized through the creation of an association named The Allied Houses.

In 1898 the company expanded its service to jewelers by purchasing new rolling mills in nearby Hop Gardens; here silver and gold alloys were formed into sheet, wire, and tube semimanufactured goods.

In 1911 Johnson Matthey signed an agreement with the Nicolai Pavdinsky Company in the Urals, which gave Johnson Matthey the rights to mine a substantial body of platinum-bearing ore in return for Johnson Matthey building a local refinery.

The company expanded its production of silver nitrate to meet the demands of the photographic industry, and in 1916 began manufacturing its own liquid gold.

In 1918 the colors division was given a firm production base through acquisition of the Sneyd color works at Burslem.

In 1919 Johnson Matthey joined N. M. Rothschild's bank and four other leading bullion brokers to form the London Gold Market, where a daily price-fixing still sets the price of gold.

From 1922 the South Africans refined their own gold, while regular supplies of platinum from the Urals had failed to resume after the war despite the ingenious attempts of Arthur Coussmaker.

In 1925 Johnson and Sons Smelting Works Ltd. of Brimsdown, Middlesex, was acquired.

1931: Rustenburg Platinum Company is formed.

Developments at home moved at an equally rapid pace: two colors factories in Staffordshire were opened immediately after the war, and in 1951 the colors section acquired Universal Transfers Co.

In 1962 L. B. Hunt was appointed director of research at new purpose-built laboratories at Wembley.

In 1963 Blythe Colours, based in Stoke-on-Trent, was acquired.

By late 1983, however, the Bank of England had begun to suspect the quality of some of the loans.

To prevent a wider banking crisis the Bank of England organized a rescue package on the evening of 30 September 1984, purchasing JMB for £1.

Investment in new plant and research was expanded, and in 1990 a new autocatalyst production plant was opened in Belgium to meet anticipated European demand.

Johnson Matthey had its best year ever in 1995, with total sales of £2.27 billion and before-tax profits of £95.4 million.

The new Electronic Materials Division soon was bolstered further through the early 1996 purchase from Cray Research Inc. of printed circuit board manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin.

The company finally found a buyer in mid-1999, giving it more than £500 million to spend on expanding its other core businesses.

With an eye toward environmental concerns heading into the 21st century, the company also was beginning to invest in the development of fuel cell technology, establishing a separate division for the new business in June 2001.