Albright and Wilson: the Last Fifty Years

Signed by the author, Hugh Podger, on the title page. Book in excellent condition; dust jacket shows light shelf wear incl. nick on upper right-hand back corner. All detail inquiries welcome.

This is an extraordinary blow-by-blow story of a venerable but vulnerable British chemical company which in its last 50 years went round a circle from family-dominated quoted company to subsidiary of a major American conglomerate and then re-flotation before final absorption by a French company. Rapid expansion in the 1950s and 1960s was followed by disastrous mistakes, leading to a near-collapse and rescue by Tenneco Inc. in 1971. In its prime, Albright & Wilson was an outstanding example of a British chemical company, second only to ICI. This book takes you through the steps - how it lost its way and finally its identity due to incompetence, poor judgment and deceit.