Vulcanized Fibre - History

History

The British patent for vulcanized fibre was obtained in 1859 by the Englishman Thomas Taylor. He gained the patent after the introduction of celluloid in 1856 and before the invention of viscose rayon (regenerated cellulose) in 1894. In 1871 Thomas Taylor obtained the United States Patent for vulcanized fibre. The first organized industrial company to make vulcanized fibre, was the Vulcanized Fibre Company, incorporated first as a New York Corporation formed June 19, 1873 listed with William Courtenay President and Charles F. Cobby Secretary. The first N.Y. corporation was also found in the 1873 N.Y. City Directory which also listed William Courtenay President and Charles F. Cobby Secretary in 1873. From 1873 until 1878 the Vulcanized Fiber Co. had a New York office address of 17 Dey St., while the factory was located in Wilmington Delaware. This can be seen in the many advertisements that were placed in different publications at this time in history. A special charter was granted by the state of Delaware in 1873 until the Delaware corporation was finally incorporated on February 8, 1875 which now listed William Courtenay President and Clement B. Smyth Secretary.

In 1884 Courtenay & Trull Co. N.Y. was merged into the Vulcanized Fibre Co. which gave the company control over a new invention called by the trade name "Gelatinized Fibre".

On December 4, 1901, during a merger and consolidation the Vulcanized Fibre Co. changed its name to the "American Vulcanized Fiber Co." which was formed for the purpose of consolidating: Kartavert Mfg. Company, Wilmington, Delaware; American Hard Fibre Company, Newark, Delaware; Vulcanized Fibre Company, Wilmington, Delaware. and the Laminar Fibre Company of North Cambridge, Mass.

In 1922 the name was changed again when it was directly purchased by the National Fibre & Insulation Company of Yorklyn Delaware (who was also the owner of the Keystone Fibre Co.). The president of the National Fibre Company at this time was J. Warren Marshall, who took the same office after consolidating into the new company "National Vulcanized Fibre Company.

In 1965 the name was changed again to the NVF Company in order to avoid confusion over the years with a new and changing product line.

The water power of the Piedmont streams in Northern Delaware led to a proliferation of companies in the vulcanized fibre business. Over the years, these companies reorganized and merged. In 1922 National Vulcanized Fiber Company emerged as the main competitor to Spaulding Fibre, which had begun developing vulcanized products in Rochester, New Hampshire and Tonawanda, New York, nearly a quarter century after the industry began in Delaware.

Some of the companies involved in vulcanized fibre development in the Wilmington region were the Nunsuch Fiber Company, American Hard Fiber Company, American Vulcanized Fibre Company, Continental Fibre Co., Diamond State Fibre Co., and Franklin Fibre Company. In the 1965 Post’s Pulp and Paper Directory, National Vulcanized Fibre Co. was listed as having two mills' producing rag paper for vulcanized fibre. They were at Newark, producing 15 tons a day; and Yorklyn, producing 18 tons a day. This compares with Spaulding Fibre’s Tonawanda plant, then producing 40 tons a day (Post’s directory). The competitors also produced bakelite, but marketed them under different names: Spaulding’s was Spauldite and National’s brand was Phenolite.