Denman International Ltd

The Trust is very grateful to Denman International Ltd who have contributed a collection of material relating to the Denman Companies that were once located in WGC to the Trust's archive.

Below is a picture of the founder of Denman Products Ltd and Denman Tools Ltd - John Denman Dean who was a native of Cushendall, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The companies were established around the time of the second world war and Dean patented the original Denman brush in 1938 but secondment to the American government for the duration of WWII interrupted any plans he had to commercialise the product. The Denman brushes used the inventor’s middle name and it continues today as a brand known worldwide in hairdressing circles.

Amongst the items received was the postcard below publicising both Denman Companies at their factory site in Tewin Road. Dean was a prominent plastics engineer and it is believed he established his factories in Welwyn Garden City to be close to some of the major petrochemical companies including ICI.

Ill health forced Dean to sell his businesses in the mid-1960s to the Yorkshire-based Lindsay & Williams Group. This company relocated the manufacturing of Denman products to Ulster Plastics Limited based in Bangor, Northern Ireland.  The Rainey family purchased Ulster Plastics Limited in 1972 and it remains a family company to this day trading as Denman International Limited.

To see more of the images please visit the Trust's Facebook page - you can view the Trust's Denman album by clicking here.