Where it began.....
In spring 1872, disturbed by the increasing costs of coal, chemicals and wages, paper mill owners unanimously agreed that a united effort should be made to increase the price of paper to consumers.
John Evans, the son-in-law of John Dickinson (a very successful papermaker of his time who invented the cylinder papermaking machine) had taken over control of Dickinson mills. He became a large producer and user of esparto pulp. John sent a circular to all papermakers in Britain, calling them together ‘to form a national association for mutual protection’.
More than 100 UK mill owners attended this meeting......
….and so, on 29th October 1872, at the Terminus Hotel in London, the nucleus of The Paper Makers’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland came into being.