FEBRUARY 2019 GBF – DE LA RUE
Great British
Factories
Our monthly trip back in time looks at how a maker of
Thomas De La Rue lived in Guernsey,
where he launched Le Miroir Politique, a
newspaper, in 1813. Once his print company
had been established, he needed room to grow
and develop. Thomas moved to London in 1821,
handling a printing and straw-hat business. The
hat side was soon dropped, as he focussed on
printing playing cards.
De La Rue’s playing card history dates back
to 1831, when Thomas secured a Royal Warrant
from William IV to print and produce them.
He wanted to print them in colour, and in 1844
he hired an artist to create a design for the back
of the cards, which had previously been blank.
During this time, De La Rue also received its
fi rst contract for train tickets, and by 1846 the
However, when asked about challenges faced
in the early years of the business, Georgie Salzedo,
Archivist at De La Rue, said: “With 200 years of
history things have not always been rosy for the
business, and there has been some challenges.
For example, in the very early days of setting up
his company, Thomas De La Rue was arrested
for debt (only for one night), and it was only
thanks to his son’s scientifi c connections and his
own timely white lead patent that the company’s
fi nancial position began to improve again.”
In 1855, De La Rue won its fi rst postage stamp
contract, for the Fourpenny Carmine, the fi rst
stamp to be printed using the surface printing
method. This began the security print business,
leading to contracts for printing stamps all over
the world.
The issue of a name was still to be decided
upon, as De La Rue was fi rst called Thomas De
La Rue & Company, Limited, then The De La Rue
Company Limited. Finally, in 1991, De La Rue plc
was chosen. The fi rst name change came when the
company transitioned from being a family-owned
business to a private company in 1921.
The company’s fi rst banknote contract, for
which it best known today, was awarded in 1860
by the government of Mauritius. The notes were
printed in colour, and featured micro-lettering,
a huge milestone in both design and security.
The company now prints a wide range of secure
documents, including passports, driving licences
and cheques.
In 1914, the UK government commissioned
De La Rue to print 10-shilling notes at the start
of WW1. During the fi rst fi ve weeks, 2.5 million
had to hide currency in a quarry for later pickup,
as it continued to print stock while countries
were being occupied. During this time, De La
Rue’s factories and offi ces at Bunhill Row were
destroyed in the Blitz. Its factory at Strathendry,
which produced pens, was also used for munitions
production. Seven years later, in 1947, the company
was back on its feet and thriving, having been
listed on the London Stock Exchange.
De La Rue fi rst marketed a banknote counting
machine in 1957, creating De La Rue Instruments
in the process. Security Express Ltd was also
formed, to off er secure delivery to those handling
money and other secure items. De La Rue also
has some inventions to its name, including
Cromolithography (1832), the Envelope Folding
Machine (1847), the plunger-fi lling pen (1905) and
the ATM (1967).
Over the next 30 years De La Rue expanded
enormously, acquiring key businesses as well as
divesting itself of other businesses not part of its
core purpose. The company went from strength
to strength acquiring new contracts to print more
currencies, as well as printing key security papers.
In 2003 De La Rue signed a seven-year
contract to print and supply sterling banknotes
for the Bank of England, taking over the bank’s
manufacturing operation. This contract was
renewed in 2009, as well as winning a 10-year
contract to produce UK passports.
Today, De La Rue employs 2,719 people at
its factories in the UK and internationally.
Economies across the world are no doubt very
pleased that Thomas De La Rue decided to stop
making hats and start a banknote empire.
Thomas De La Rue originally
ran a hat-making company
2,700+
people are now employed
globally by De La Rue
Have you got a factory you think should feature in this column?
Email amy.best@markallengroup.com
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 43
Marima/ stock.adobe.com
playing cards became a leading banknote manufacturer
notes were printed. In WW2 however, De La Rue
De La Rue archives
company was producing 1.5 million tickets a week.
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
/stock.adobe.com
link