Pyrene Co
of Great West Road, Brentford; of 9 Grosvenor Gardens, London.
1907 A Scottish engineer, unable to get financial backing in the UK, took his idea for a fire extinguisher to the US. He established what became known as the Pyrene Company of Delaware in 1909.
1914 A British offshoot, The Pyrene Company Limited was founded when Wallace B. Phillips, an American businessman set up in Great Queen Street, London, selling 'pump' extinguishers.
1918 The company moved to 9 Grosvenor Gardens, London.
1920 The company moved to Stoke Newington to manufacture soda-acid and foam fire extinguishers was established.
1924 The London General Omnibus Company awarded Pyrene the contract for fire extinguishers.
1927 Established a metal-finishing division which developed the Parkerizing process for metal rust-proofing.
1930 Pyrene moved to a new Art Deco style factory located on the Great West Road, Brentford and established the concept of major fire demonstrations with the construction of a massive demonstration ground behind the Brentford factory, to simulate an oil storage depot.
Pyrene Phomene installations were fitted to many ships during the 1930s, and the 'car bumper' division became well established and by 1960 was producing approximately one third of the car bumpers used in the UK motor industry.
1937 Fire extinguisher and appliance manufacturers. "Conquest" Fire Extinguisher. "Phomene" Fire Extinguisher. "Pyrene" Fire Extinguisher.
1939 See Aircraft Industry Suppliers
1950 A factory was opened in Ferndale, South Wales for the manufacture of fire extinguishers.
1953 Public company.
1959 Pyrene acquired the safety product business of Panorama Equipment, and traded as Pyrene Panorama
1960 Fire protection in mines.
1961 Fire protection engineers, manufacturers of motor car bumpers and operators of metal pre-treatment processes. 2,500 employees.
1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Fire equipment.
1967 Pyrene was taken over by Chubb and Sons
1976 Fireward, manufacturers since 1964 of plastic-bodied portable dry-powder fire extinguishers also merged with Pyrene Panorama, to form the new company, Chubb Panorama
1976 Submarine and Safety Engineering which specialised in self-contained under-water breathing apparatus and diving equipment were aquired
1971 Changed name to Chubb Fire Security
See Also
Sources of Information
- 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries
- Mining Year Book 1960. Published by Walter E. Skinner. Advert p453
- 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- 1963 Motor Show