Pan Britannica Industries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Industry | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Founded | Tennant Group of Companies |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Headquarters | Waltham Abbey , United Kingdom |
Key people | Dr David Gerald Hessayon |
| Products | Kylage, Baby Bio, Slug Pellets |
| Website | PBI Home & Garden Ltd |
Pan Britannica Industries Ltd (PBI) was a household and agrochemical formulation company incorporated in 1932[1] and based at Britannica House, Stewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey and with a distribution presence in Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. PBI was, in common with many other UK household names, both a manufacturer and marketing organisation for both agricultural and horticultural products.
PBI produced many agro-chemical formulations for farmers, however it was perhaps best known for its product Baby Bio, a liquid plant food that came in a small perfume-shaped bottle. PBI was also the original publisher of the 'Expert' range of gardening books, starting with Be Your Own Gardening Expert written in 1958 by Dr D.G. Hessayon,[2][3] who later became the company's chairman.[4]
The company was sold to Sumitomo Corporation on 28 September 1990,[1][5] and rebranded as PBI Home & Garden in 1998.[6] In March 1999 the company was acquired by global conglomerate Bayer. The company has ceased production at Waltham Abbey, the works have been demolished and the site redeveloped for a Tesco supermarket.[7] The rebranded company, PBI Home and Garden, was dissolved in 2015.[8]