Site Designed, administered and published by Anthony Green
Date |
Activity |
1919 |
Martin Dybeck started a subsidiary in the UK of the Swedish battery company AB Jungner under the name Batteries Ltd using the brand name NIFE, and at Hunt End, Redditch. |
1923 |
Batteries Ltd. commenced manufacturing, assembling batteries from components made in Sweden. During the 1920's production facilities expanded. |
1926 |
Lucas CAV took a financial interest in the company with an entitlement of two directors. |
1929 |
Varta founded Britannia Batteries Ltd at Union Street, Redditch and commenced making dry batteries and lead acid batteries. In the mid 1930's they also began production of nickel-iron batteries. |
1933 |
Chloride acquired a controlling interest in Batteries Ltd. and renamed it Nife Batteries Ltd. |
1936 |
Chloride acquired Britannia Batteries Ltd. This gave them the Union Street plant and also the Britannia and Alklum brands. |
1947 |
Nife and Britannia were merged to form Alkaline Batteries Ltd., operating from the Union Street site. |
1964 |
A manufacturing plant was set up in Pont Henry, South Wales, to produce small sealed nickel-cadmium batteries based on technology and machines designed and developed in Redditch.. |
1966 |
Alkaline Batteries Ltd. began using the Alcad brand name and allowed the Swedish Jungner company to gradually buy back the NIFE brand name for use also in the Brittish Commonwealth,except for in the UK. Alkaline Batteries Ltd kept the rights to “NIFE” in the UK until the 1980´s. |
1973 |
Chloride bought out the Lucas CAV interest and the name was changed to Chloride Alcad Ltd. |
1982 |
Chloride sold Chloride Alcad Ltd to the Marathon Manufacturing Inc. of Waco, Texas, USA and the name was changed to Marathon Alcad Ltd. |
1987 |
Marathon Alcad Ltd was sold to the French company, Saft, The Redditch company then operated under the name Alcad Ltd. |
1988 |
Redditch became the primary manufacturer of nickel-cadmium pocket plate cells for the Saft Group but various cost cutting measures reduced the workforce. |
1991 |
Saft purchased the Swedish NIFE company, the descendant of the Svenska Ackumulator AB Jungner which had started the original Redditch company. Its brand name was changed to Saft-Nife. |
1993 |
The Alcad factory in Redditch was closed and the production of the Alcad products moved to the Swedish factory based in Oskarshamn, Sweden. The Alcad UK sales were moved to the Saft (UK) Ltd offices in Hampton, Middlesex and the international sales moved to Sweden. Although the site was now derelict, due to the contamination of years of battery manufacture, it would be some time before the site could be declared safe for other use. |
Since 1993 the Alcad brand name has still continued as a major international brand. but is no-longer manufactured in Redditch.
In 2002 the old Reddich site was eventually declared environmentally safe and sold. Development was able to begin and the first major outlet to open was the B&Q do-it-yourself warehouse. This was followed by other developments including housing, so bringing to an end the history of international battery manufacture at Reddich.