The Distillers Company

The Distillers Company plc was a Scotch whisky company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo.

History

The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade association known as the Scotch Distillers' Association formed by Menzies, Barnard & Craig, John Bald & Co., John Haig & Co., MacNab Bros, Robert Mowbray and Macfarlane & Co. in 1865.[1]

It was incorporated in 1877 as The Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL) and in 1894 DCL was listed on the Edinburgh and Glasgow stock exchanges.[1]

During the early part of the 1900s, DCL embarked in programme of distillery acquisitions at low prices in the wake of the Pattisons crash of 1898.[2]

Other

Chemicals and plastics

Since 1915, during the World War I, Distillers supplied industrial alcohol for making explosives. In 1922, it started to manufacture Discol-branded motor fuel made from alcohol.[9] In 1928, it formed together with Turner and Newall, the Carbon Dioxide Co Ltd for the sale of gas, a byproduct of their operations. In 1930, Distillers formed British Industrial Solvents for production of acids and other solvents from industrial alcohol. In 1933, it formed Gyproc Products which was sold to British Plaster Board in 1944.[10] In 1937, Distillers acquired British Resin Products.[10][11] In 1939, it acquired a controlling stake in Commercial Solvents and a 50% interest in BX Plastics, where full control was acquired in 1961. It followed by getting 48% shareholding in F. A. Hughes and Co. in 1941 and taking the full control in 1947.[10] In 1947, F. A. Hughes and Co. was merged into British Resin.[10][11]

In 1947, British Petroleum Chemicals was incorporated as a joint venture of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and Distillers Company. In 1956, the company was renamed British Hydrocarbon Chemicals.[12]

In 1945, Distillers formed a joint venture, British Geon, with B. F. Goodrich to produce polyvinyl chloride and in 1954 it started a partnership named Distrene with Dow Chemicals to produce polystyrene.[11] In 1955, it took full control of Magnesium Elektron.[10] In 1967, BP acquired chemical and plastic assets of The Distillers Company which were merged with British Hydrocarbon Chemicals to form BP Chemicals.[13]

Pharmaceuticals

From 1942, Distillers Biochemicals (DCBL) operated an Agency Factory of the British Ministry of Supply manufacturing penicillin in Speke. The plant was one of the first two factories in Europe to produce penicillin.[14] Following World War II, DCBL purchased the facility from the UK Government.[15]

Distillers was also responsible for the manufacture of the drug Thalidomide in the United Kingdom.[16] Thalidomide had been developed by Grunenthal with whom, in July 1957, DCBL signed a sixteen-year contract to market the drug. DCBL ordered 6,000 tablets for clinical trial and 500 grammes of pure substance for animal experiments and formulation. Thalidomide was marketed in the United Kingdom under the name Distaval, beginning on 14 April 1958. Advertisements emphasised the drug's complete safety, using phrases such as non-toxic and no known toxicity. Later, Thalidomide was marketed under the names Asmaval, Tensival, Valgis, and Valgraine and found to cause nerve damage and malformations in births.[17]

type	Public
fate	Acquired
successor	Guinness
foundation	1877
defunct	1986
location	Edinburgh, Scotland
industry	Drink industry
products	Scotch whisky

The Distillers Company

History

Distilleries

Malt whisky distilleries

Grain whisky distilleries

Brands

Other

Chemicals and plastics

Pharmaceuticals

Directors of note

Bibliography

External links

References