A Fine Romance & 20,000 Rolls Of 3M Scotch Electrical Tape

By Chris Dodds on 18th June, 2013

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A Fine Romance & 20,000 Rolls Of 3M Scotch Electrical Tape

T&D's first date with 3M was at a trade exhibition in Earls Court, London sometime in the 1960's.

Just around the corner as Swinging London throbbed to Beatlemania, Brian Derrick and Victor Thorne undistracted by the miniskirt fuelled hedonism of Carnaby Street, set out their stand and turned their charm onto prospective 3M customers. 

A long romance ensued but it was not until 1985 when 3M finally "put a ring on it" and appointed Thorne & Derrick as Official 3M UK Distributors.

Fast forward a further 30 happy years and you could say we've bonded - we've certainly stuck together.

In fact, some days as in the Summer of 2013, we shift 3M product by the warehouse load. 20,000 rolls of tape to be exact.

20,000 rolls of 3M Scotch tape has rather quite a long stretch :  

  • Flight distance from Paris To Amsterdam
  • 9.5 New York Marathons
  • 243 laps of Spa-Francorchamps F1 Circuit 
  • 482 times the height of Burj Khalifa Skyscraper
  • 12 crossings of the English Channel

1946 While a World War devoured rubber supplies, alternatives were needed. The solution emerged when 3M scientist Don Douglas dropped a rubber band on a hot plate—and the electrical world was never the same. The eventual result of that mishap, Vinyl Electrical Tape, set the standard across the electrical industry. Stronger and less prone to rotting and corrosion than rubber, Scotch No. 33 vinyl electrical tape was an invention the world was waiting for.

 

3M Scotch 33

 

1960's. We Got Chemistry. T&D & 3M go back nearly half a century to when Victor Thorne and Brian Derrick were Directors of Brissco Equipment Ltd. The photo below is from that trade exhibition at Earls Court in the 60's.

Squint, you can just make out the 3M logo on the right.....

3M Electrical

 




Category:  3M Scotch Tapes

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