Pan Britannica Industries
Encyclopedia
Pan Britannica Industries Ltd or PBI as it was known to its employees and to the industry, was a small (400 emps) household and agrochemical formulation company based in Waltham Abbey
stewardstone Rd, Waltham Cross
Britannica House and with a distribution presence in Wisbech
in Cambridgeshire
.
It was best known for its product Baby Bio
that was a liquid plant food, which came in a notable small perfume shaped bottle. Other major products by PBI were the Expert range of books, such as the Garden Expert or the Rose expert etc., written by the Chairman Dr D.G. Hessayon also many agrochemical formulations that were popular with farmers in many parts of the globe.
It was sold to the Sumitomo corporation in the late eighties, but continue to be run largely by the same management, it is now part of the Bayer
corporation, which markets the best of its brands. the Waltham Abbey site has been redevelopped into a housing estate. There is still a presence in Waltham Cross called PBI Home & Garden Ltd, still in the same building, now renamed Durkan house.
A lot of the products that PBI once produced have now been outlawed in the west due to long term human health issues but prior to this legislation many of the products were considered safe (and manufactured by other companies around the world) producing a strong market presence for a very small player on the global agrochemicals scene. Now only the benign formulas like Baby Bio continue.
Dr D.G. Hessayon is still writing gardening books but these are now published by Transworld
.
, Storyline in early 1993, which investigated a report and legal moves highlighting an unusual occurrence of cancer around the plant. This program was followed by several articles in the press http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/inquiry-is-sought-over-pesticide-cancer-fears-1470365.html
The allegations were rejected by the then managing director Jeremy Tear. No official body or agency then charged with the oversight of activities at the Waltham Abbey site raised any concerns connected with the activity or safety procedures at the plant.
Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey may refer to:* Waltham Abbey, Essex, England* Waltham Abbey , which gave its name to the above town* Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills* Waltham Abbey F.C., based in the same town...
stewardstone Rd, Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross is the most southeasterly town in Hertfordshire, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London and immediately north of the M25 motorway, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London.-Geography:It is...
Britannica House and with a distribution presence in Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
.
It was best known for its product Baby Bio
Baby Bio
Baby Bio is the brand name for a range of plant care products created by Pan Britannica Industries Ltd and now marketed by Bayer....
that was a liquid plant food, which came in a notable small perfume shaped bottle. Other major products by PBI were the Expert range of books, such as the Garden Expert or the Rose expert etc., written by the Chairman Dr D.G. Hessayon also many agrochemical formulations that were popular with farmers in many parts of the globe.
It was sold to the Sumitomo corporation in the late eighties, but continue to be run largely by the same management, it is now part of the Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
corporation, which markets the best of its brands. the Waltham Abbey site has been redevelopped into a housing estate. There is still a presence in Waltham Cross called PBI Home & Garden Ltd, still in the same building, now renamed Durkan house.
A lot of the products that PBI once produced have now been outlawed in the west due to long term human health issues but prior to this legislation many of the products were considered safe (and manufactured by other companies around the world) producing a strong market presence for a very small player on the global agrochemicals scene. Now only the benign formulas like Baby Bio continue.
Dr D.G. Hessayon is still writing gardening books but these are now published by Transworld
Transworld (company)
Transworld Publishers Inc. is a British publishing division of Random House and belongs to Bertelsmann, one of the world's largest media groups. It was established in 1950, and for many years it was the British division of Bantam Books. It publishes fiction and non fiction titles by various...
.
Cancer allegations
The company did have one negative brush with fame when its formulation plant in Waltham Abbey was alleged to be at the centre and therefore cause of a cancer hotspothttp://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/0335218423.pdf, this was highlighted by an investigative television program by Carlton TelevisionCarlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
, Storyline in early 1993, which investigated a report and legal moves highlighting an unusual occurrence of cancer around the plant. This program was followed by several articles in the press http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/inquiry-is-sought-over-pesticide-cancer-fears-1470365.html
The allegations were rejected by the then managing director Jeremy Tear. No official body or agency then charged with the oversight of activities at the Waltham Abbey site raised any concerns connected with the activity or safety procedures at the plant.