Nylex Plastics

Nylex Plastics, founded in 1927, is an Australian manufacturer of a range of plastic goods. It was originally called the Australian Moulding Corporation but changed its name in 1948. The founder was John Derham. It is continued by its gardening products branch, which continues to produce and sell plastic gardening products throughout Australia, using the Nylex branding. A company that was previously a subsidiary, Nylex (Malaysia) Berhard, also still operates.

History

Derham era

The Nylex brand has its origins with the Australian Moulding Corporation in 1927. This was a plastics manufacturing firm, founded by John Derham in Mentone, Melbourne in 1927. A rival company, Moulded Products, started in 1931, and Derham sold his company to it, while himself getting a share of Moulded Products. He then later gained control of all of Moulded Products with some colleagues, thus ending up with both companies.

The company expanded to make a range of products, and in World War Two produced plastic radio receivers and Army crash helmets. The demand for products during WW2 saw a lot of innovation as the company expanded into producing different types of plastics, including PVC and polymers. Specific innovations for the military at the time included PVC copolymer solution for moisture-proofing rifles, PVC wire coating, moisture proof striking surfaces for matches.

The company started producing garden products in the 1950s. Australian Moulding Corporation became Nylex. Derham died in 1957, and the company was eventually managed by his son, Peter Derham in 1967. Peter Derham worked with the company for most of his life and other family members managing various parts of the business. Nylex was eventually purchased by Australian Consolidated Industries (ACI).

BTR era

Nylex was purchased by British company BTR Hopkins in 1984 from ACI. BTR, then a large global concern headed by Alan Jackson, re-branded the company as BTR Nylex. Under BTR, the company again expanded, with BTR Nylex being the Asian headquarters and central focus point for multiple BTR acquisitions within Asia, including in Malaysia. During this period, BTR Nylex purchased a number of important Asian business operating in related fields, including purchases of plastics companies e.g. China General Plastics in Taiwan and Japan, and a 51% stake in Nylex Malaysia. Jackson improved BTR Nylex's operations in Asia, greatly expanding the business into expanding areas, including recycling PET bottle and glass operations, and the purchase of Formica in the United States His results in the Asian sector saw him appointed to London to manage the global BTR business, applying his same strategies of success.

Austrim era

Jackson later moved to another Company, Austrim, which expanded under his strategic direction. Under Jackson, this company acquired Nylex in October 1998 for $63 million, when BTR collapsed. The company became at that point Austrim Nylex, which was then simplified to Nylex once again, with Jackson commenting that the Nylex brand in Australia was better known compared to Austrim, and this could help the business Austrim Nylex eventually owned 30 major brands in Australia, including control of many textile companies, but profit margins had become thin. Jackson stayed with the company, eventually leaving in 2001.

Products

Nylex's brightly colored Bessemer line of informal tablewares was common in Australian homes in the 1960s. Nylex started making plastic Esky products (originally produced by Malleys) in 1984. By the time of collapse the company was producing a range of products including garden hose, Esky Coolers, floor tiles, car trim and parts, fuel tanks and water tanks.

Esky coolers were particular well known in Australia, and were an iconic Australian brand, the name used in Australia as a general term for a hamper cooler.

Nylex Clock

Nylex moved to Cremorne Street, Richmond in the 1950s, and John Derham's office overlooked the Silos. Derham realised it would be a prominent spot for promotion of his company, which at that time was expanding and the publicity would be beneficial. He decided to move ahead with putting a Neon sign on the silos, ultimately concluded by his son Peter Derham. At the time the staff referred to it as "Derham's folly" and it was seen as a waste of money, but ultimately it became a famous landmark promoting the Nylex brand. The Nylex Clock, erected in 1961, remains a prominent feature of the Melbourne skyline, visible from various parts of Melbourne, including the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Company collapse

The company went into liquidation in 2009, after it failed to pay finance on $60 million worth of debt. The receivership was handled by Ferrier Hodgson, and the company continued to trade throughout the process. At the time it had 8 subsidiaries, some producing garden hose, Esky Coolers, film and plastic car parts and water tanks.

There were a number of reasons for the company's collapse. The company was competing with cheap Asian plastic imports. In the BTR and Austrim eras, the company had expanded exponentially, but this had cut down profit margins. The company also, under Alan Jackson, had moved into purchasing businesses in loss making sectors, including textiles, which were suffering huge downturns at the time. The company owned major iconic Australian brands but was unable to use them to generate cash to sustain the company.

The company had benefited from water tank arm of its business, which had received subsidies because of a drought, but when the drought broke Government subsidies stopped, and then tanks started being imported from Asia. In additions, the hard times in the car industry affected Nylex's car part business. The company had seen write downs for many of its businesses and had been supported by people like Kerry Stokes who had helped the business while others had pulled out. In addition to this, the overall Global Financial Collapse had taken its toll on the company.

At the time of collapse, it owed $100 million AUD to creditors. Some of the businesses were sold on at the time of collapse. Esky coolers, a popular brand of lunch cooler, was sold to US company Colemans Most of its industrial/commercial real estate was sold off, much of it being turned into residential apartments. The large Mentone site, which had previously housed 1000 workers, was sold off for part commercial, part residential, though a heritage protected Nylex sign remains

Current operations

The Nylex brand continues to exist selling plastic garden hose and garden products throughout Australia, through large hardware outlets. The company supports cricket in Australia, sponsoring the Melbourne Renegades. The company is currently owned by AMES Australasia since a 2014 acquisition that cost $36 million. This included other companies as well as Nylex during this purchase.AMES Australasia. “Nylex - AMES Australasia,” June 14, 2019. https://au.ames.com/nylex/.

A company previously owned by BTR Nylex as a subsidiary, Nylex (Malaysia) Berhad, operates as a major plastics manufacturing concern in Malaysia.

References

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Plastics companies of Australia
Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne
Companies disestablished in 2009
Australian subsidiaries of foreign companies
Conglomerate companies of Australia