From soap in the city to consumer products leader

Sep 3 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

From its roots in a soap company founded in 1837 to its current leading research and development role, Karen Dent explores Procter & Gamble's long association with the North East.

IT'S almost eight decades since consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble arrived on Tyneside after snapping up Newcastle soap company Thomas Hedley & Co in 1930.

The acquisition became the first overseas base for the US company, which was started in Cincinnati in 1837 by two brothers-in-law – Englishman William Procter and Irishman James Gamble – to manufacture soap and candles.

P&G is still headquartered in the Ohio city and has operations across the US, Canada, Australia, Latin and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, but the North East remains a key part of its global scheme. The company is responsible for such household names as Ariel, Pampers, Gillette and Max Factor.

P&G now employs around 1,500 people at three different sites in the North East.

The company moved out of its administrative centre in Gosforth in 2000 because there was insufficient room for further expansion.

Now its administrative offices – and one of its Global Business Centres – is based at Colbalt Business Park, where 800 staff work. P&G bought the former Old Spice plant at Seaton Delaval in Northumberland in 1990, where it manufactures hair dyes and fine fragrances which are sold in the UK and exported to Europe.

But perhaps P&G in the North East’s most direct effect on the rest of the world is via the innovation hub known as the Newcastle Technical Centre (NTC), which is based in Longbenton.

Opened in 1957 by the Duke of Northumberland, the centre originally cost £500,000 to build and equip. It has helped to develop big brand names such as Fairy and Ariel and is now the hub for laundry powders and dishwasher powders.

Charles Bragg, site leader at the NTC, first came to the North East in 1977 when he secured a job with P&G.

The Cambridge University graduate then worked for the company in London and Cincinnati before returning to Newcastle two years ago to take the helm at the Longbenton operation.

He says there have been major changes since the site opened 52 years ago.

“It was very small – we’ve grown a lot since then. It was only about 50 people when it first opened,” said Mr Bragg.

“The facilities are much, much better, we have a much greater capability to analyse what’s going on.

“It’s fairly important [globally]. Fabric care deals with all the laundry and cleaning products P&G makes – that’s $12-13bn dollars in sales. Newcastle is one of the key technical centres to develop new products.

“That is a very important part of P&G’s research centres – we are a global research and development (R&D) centre.”