Rozalex was a brand of Rozalex Limited, a subsidiary of the Chloride Electrical Storage Company

Chloride Electrical Storage Company

Chloride Electrical Storage Company was started in 1891. The company was originally registered as Chloride Electrical Storage Syndicate on December 12, 1891. It was formed in a deal between the Electric Storage Battery Company of New Jersey and the United Gas Improvement Company based in...

 credited with being the first company in the United Kingdom to commercialise topical barrier cream

Barrier cream

A barrier cream is a topical formulation used in industrial and medical environments to place a physical barrier between the skin and contaminants which may irritate the skin and cause contact dermatitis or occupational dermatitis.- Medical application :...

 for use in an industrial setting.

The cream was originally developed for use in their Exide works at Clifton Junction near Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. Battery manufacture was labour intensive and used hazardous materials, so skin irritation and contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis is a term for a skin reaction resulting from exposure to allergens or irritants . Phototoxic dermatitis occurs when the allergen or irritant is activated by sunlight....

 was rife among workers. Chloride began research and development of a barrier cream which could help protect workers and increase productivity.

Company history

The company was founded in 1929 as a spin off of The Chloride Electrical Storage Co. Ltd.

1969 Newton, Chambers & Company

Newton, Chambers & Company

It was in 1789 that George Newton and Thomas Chambers entered into a partnership that would result in the founding of one of England's largest industrial companies of that era, Newton, Chambers & Co.-History:...

 acquired Rozalex Limited and the brand sat along other household names such as IZAL and Zalpon.

1972 Newton, Chambers & Co was subsequently acquired by the Central & Sheerwood Trust an Investment banking and financial services group.

1973 Central & Sheerwood Trust sold the IZAL operation which included Rozalex to Sterling Winthrop's, Sterling Industrial.

1981 Sterling Industrial acquired the Kerodex range of industrial barrier creams and merged them into the Rozalex Range.

1987 Unilever

Unilever

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

 acquired Sterling Industrial in a strategic move to push into the Business to Business hygiene, janitorial and floor care sectors.

2002 Unilever sold the main equity share of its Business to Business division (Lever Industrial-DiverseyLever) to SC Johnson to form JohnsonDiversey.

2008 JohnsonDiversey divests the Rozalex brand to Present Value Limited and Rozalex Limited is reinstated.