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24-567: The earliest instance of the company was Angelo Tomasso Inc, a construction company founded by its namesake in 1923. The company was renamed Tilcon Tomasso in 1979, when it was purchased by British company Thomas Tilling Ltd. Ownership changed to British Tyre and Rubber in 1984. The company's name was changed to Tilcon Connecticut in 1990 out of recognition of the company's extensive operations in Connecticut. Tilcon's operations in Connecticut were threatened by Amtrak 's electrification project on

48-595: A hostile takeover bid for Pilkington , a leading manufacturer of high quality glass with operations worldwide, which it valued at $ 1.64 billion. Pilington's management rejected the offer and fought a successful defensive campaign with politicians taking sides in the matter, thus BTR was compelled to withdraw its offer in February 1987. Three years later, BTR withdrew from another failed hostile takeover, this time of Norton Abrasives , which it had valued at $ 1.643 billion. In 1988, BTR purchased Schlegel Corporation through

72-537: A subsidiary of the American rubber specialist B.F.Goodrich Company . Ten years later, it became the British Tyre & Rubber Co. Ltd after Goodrich sold its stake in the business; it moved into synthetic rubber and plastics during the 1940s and withdrew from tyre production in 1956, adopting the name BTR Ltd around the same timeframe. Management pursued a strategy of diversification and rationalisation that lasted into

96-538: A UK-based subsidiary, British Goodrich Rubber Co. Ltd. During 1934, Goodrich opted to sell the majority of its shares in the company, which promptly changed its name to the British Tyre & Rubber Co. Ltd. Shortly thereafter, it was successfully floated on the London Stock Exchange . The company primarily focused on the manufacture of tyres for road vehicles, conveyor belts, and industrial hoses. It benefitted considerably from several innovations developed during

120-482: A decade of ownership, the company opted to sell Rockware. Between 1996 and 1998, BTR sold the remaining Dunlop companies, and exited the aerospace sector entirely. In November 1997, UniPoly S.A, bought 32 companies from BTR, including the Schlegel Sealing and Shielding Group, at a reported cost of roughly $ 867 million. The deal was a management buyout in which UniPoly Group was formed to take over most of

144-467: A final admission that BTR's business model could no longer fulfil changes in customer expectations. The company heads of BTR plc are only listed following the name change of BTR in 1956 until the takeover of BTR in 1999. Owen Green Sir Owen Whitley Green FCA FCMI (14 May 1925 – 1 June 2017) was chief executive and later chairman of the British industrial conglomerate BTR plc . Green

168-455: A large centralised research and development division, a factor that led to the company being criticised for not valuing a long term perspective. Acquisitions continued through the 1980s; larger companies included the Tilling Group in 1983, and Dunlop Holdings plc in 1985. The Dunlop road tyre business was immediately sold to Sumitomo Rubber Industries . During late 1986, BTR launched

192-564: A subsidiary. Schlegel had manufacturing facilities for door and window seals and related products in twelve countries. Schlegel made automobile and building products in Europe through its subsidiaries Schlegel UK and Schlegel GmbH. Following the purchase, BTR decided to transfer the Schlegel UK and Schlegel GmbH subsidiaries from Schlegel Corporation to itself. There was a dispute over how the transfer should be valued for tax purposes, with BTR valuing

216-530: A total of 23 locations in Connecticut. As of 2017, it is the largest producer of traprock in Connecticut, with five active quarries in the state. A major rock quarry is operated by Tilcon in North Branford, Connecticut. The company owns and operates the Branford Steam Railroad which exports rock from the quarry. This quarry first opened in 1914. Tilcon operates a quarry in these two towns. In 2018,

240-485: The Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Boston in 1994. The company said its viability was threatened by increased Amtrak train service, which would force Providence and Worcester Railroad freight trains to run at night on a limited schedule. Tilcon's president said at the time that "It would knock us out of business or limit freight service to the point that we would lose hundreds of jobs." Tilcon operates

264-662: The Second World War , such as synthetic rubber and plastics . By 1955, British Tyre & Rubber was one of eleven tyre manufacturers operating in the UK. During 1956, the company opted to cease production of tyres in favour of its other activities as this business unit was becoming increasingly unprofitable. To reflect the company's changing product line, its name was changed to BTR Limited. The late 1950s and early 1960s were marked by efforts towards diversification and rationalisation, however, BTR achieved poor fiscal performance up until

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288-504: The Schlegel UK and Schlegel GmbH subsidiaries at $ 21.8 million and $ 9.4 million, while the Internal Revenue Service valued them at $ 49.1 million and $ 13.2 million. During the early to mid 1990s, under Alan Jackson ’s stewardship as CEO, BTR controlled over 1,500 subsidiary companies in over 60 different countries. This was largely due to the takeover bids that were led by Green and, later, by Jackson. In 1992, Hawker Siddeley

312-579: The company's attempt to expand its quarry on additional land owned by the city of New Britain was denied by mayor Erin Stewart over concerns of environmental impact. British Tyre and Rubber BTR plc was a British multinational industrial conglomerate company. It was headquartered in London , England. The company was originally founded in 1924 as the British Goodrich Rubber Co. Ltd as

336-555: The company, in which, became increasingly inefficient and unprofitable in various manufacturing sections. BTR's activities in late 1990s was marked by a series of divestments, at which point the company was headed by Ian Strachan. During 1994, less than three years after arranging to acquire the company, BTR opted to spin off Hawker Siddeley Canada via a flotation on the Toronto Stock Exchange , swapping its 59 per cent holding for around £65 million. Similarly, after less than

360-546: The late 1980s provided 41% of BTR’s profits and kickstarted BTR’s growth in the emerging markets of Southeast Asia . This was also due to the Malaysian wing of Nylex, Berhard. One of the major ways BTR grew in size and in profits, was its continual takeover of other companies throughout the world. This led it to be a multinational conglomerate . Moreover, the company also gained further profits by investing large amounts of money in investing in capital and operations, as well as

384-467: The methods used by Green and later Jackson, of ruthless cost-cutting. This included laying off staff and dispensing with unprofitable businesses. It was these methods that have been credited with the success of the company. Nevertheless, this approach also was perhaps BTR's greatest weakness, which came ahead in the late 1990s following the retirement of both Green and Jackson, at which point debt had risen to high levels. Restructuring efforts failed to revive

408-539: The mid 1960s. During late 1966, BTR came under the control of a new central management team, which Sir Owen Green took the lead of in the following year. Green pursued a strategy of targeted growth towards opportunities that quickly would become lucrative. New subsidiaries would be created and numerous acquisitions would be undertaken by Green and later by Alan Jackson . This approach included multiple hostile takeovers by BTR, though several such bids failed, for Pilkington , Norton Abrasives , and Hawker Siddeley . BTR

432-469: The mid-1960s. During late 1966, BTR came under the control of a new central management team; the prevailing philosophy was stated to be "growth is the goal, profit is the measure, security is the result". Furthermore, it was posited that, for the company to be strong and lucrative, it would need to operate on an international basis. To this end, BTR, through both acquisition and establishment, established numerous overseas operations; while in-house investment

456-411: The rubber products business of BTR plc. During these years, BTR was organised in the following businesses areas: Engineering, Packaging, Materials, Building products, Polymers. In 1999, BTR merged with Siebe to form BTR Siebe, which was renamed Invensys . The last chief executive of BTR, Ian Strachan, became the initial chief executive of Invensys following the merger. The merger has been viewed as

480-554: Was acquired by BTR in exchange for £ 1.5bn despite opposition from Hawker Siddeley's board. This was the first large hostile takeover of a company that Jackson had completed in his role as managing director. During that same year, he also purchased two smaller companies; Rockware, the UK’s leading class manufacturer and Pirreli, a sealing company. These were bought for A $ 400 and A $ 200 million respectively. In 1995, BTR purchased Australian platics manufacturer Nylex . This company during

504-522: Was born in Stockton on Tees on 14 May 1925. He served with the Royal Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946. In 1948 he married Doreen Spark (died 2006), with whom he had a son and two daughters. He qualified as an accountant in 1950. Green joined BTR as finance director in 1956. In 1967 he became managing director and chief executive, and from 1984 to 1993 he was chairman. His acquisitions made BTR one of

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528-502: Was favoured, external acquisitions were pursued where it was through to result in greater growth opportunities. This process was encouraged by the British government, which supported BTR's amalgamation with similar companies such as the Leyland and Birmingham Rubber Company. Between 1967 and 1993, BTW was dominated by Sir Owen Green , who initially served as its managing director (until 1986) and then as its chairman. Green's principal focus

552-435: Was listed on the London Stock Exchange . During the 1990s, BTR accumulated a considerable debt burden and divested many of its divisions during restructuring efforts. In 1999, BTR merged with Siebe to form BTR Siebe, later renamed Invensys . Invensys was bought by and absorbed into Schneider Electric in 2014. BTR can trace its origins back to 1924, at which point the American rubber specialist B.F.Goodrich Company formed

576-680: Was on operating margins and cash flow , which arguably came at the cost of long-term investment. By 1982, BTR had acquired a large number of companies in the United Kingdom, the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Germany. These ventures ranged into various fields of work, from extracting raw materials such as natural and synthetic rubbers, textiles and chemicals, to insurance , pensions , corporate planning, international taxation and legal matters. The majority of BTR's product line were sold to other manufacturers and businesses. The company did not have

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