On Paper History

Today our consumption of paper is changing rapidly as the written word gives way to information obtained electronically, and as domestic consumption responds to environmental concerns.

However Peter Dixon and Son rode the wave of the rapidly expanding popular press in the early part of the 20^th century, and then saw the transition between hard and soft toilet tissue some fifty years later.

It was a UK company, family owned and run. It had a span of almost one hundred years from 1871 to the early 1970’s.  It owned and operated two paper mills : one in Oughtibridge near Sheffield and one at West Marsh in Grimsby, running a total of eight machines. During its most developed period it was very well structured. A Paper Division produced various grades of paper (newsprint, imitation parchment, liner paper), and the Packaging division with production and conversion activities. At the raw material end of the chain, Dixons had their own pulp mill in Finland and a China Clay mine, and on the logistics side a shipping department took care of sea freight.

Paper manufacturing has always been spread around the globe, and during its evolution it has become, like many other industries in mass production, dominated by scale in order to combat tight margins. Peter Dixon and Son Ltd was unable to survive much beyond one hundred years because of this. The family was indeed dedicated and technically innovative, but the company’s activities were not large enough to remain viable.

Peter Dixon & Son Ltd commissioned a business history to commemorate their centenary. This was completed and published in 1972, with the intention to circulate copies to staff, pensioners, customers and suppliers.  However, because of the unexpected closure of West March Mill in 1974 and the decision to sell off the various businesses soon thereafter, the book languished in storage.

The author will be happy to give access to the book via this website to those with an interest in the history of paper manufacture. If you would like to read it, please fill in the request form to receive your access password.

Joseph Dixon (Died 1926)

Son of Peter Dixon

Cuthbert Dixon

Co-director from 1926

Here the story of Messrs. Peter Dixon & Son began in 1871. Farseeing men that they were, they realised there were likely to be enormous developments in the printing of newspapers. At their commencement the mill turned out from six to ten tons of newsprint per week on the one printing machine, until by 1894, production reached 70 tons per week. Later on, another machine was installed, raising the capacity to 180 tons weekly.

Following a big fire and reconstruction scheme, two high speed machines replacing obsolete equipment, two high speed machines, making paper 98 and 94 inches wide gave a weekly output of 270 tons.

It was always their policy to provide for all eventualities so Messrs. Peter Dixon associated themselves with a Finnish company, O Y Vaala, whose properties include a 20,000 h.p. waterfall right in the heart of the most fertile belt of spruce forest where they are assured of an annual growth of nearly 600,000 cubic feet of spruce wood. This is sufficient to make 200,000 tons of wood pulp each year, which more than met the demands of the eight paper machines in Great Britain.

1930 saw the erection of the new sulphite cellulose Mill by O.Y. Toppila just north of Uleaborg where the company acquired 60 hectares of land and leased a further 40 hectares, the land extending to the harbour so that vessels would be able to load and unload at the mill’s own wharf. Full details can be read here.