About Sparkford
50 years in the making…
If you read the history, you`ll be aware David Gibbons incorporated Sparkford in 1966.As a trading entity, he mentioned how the company first moved menthol, ginger and other commodities. Included in that range were items like cashew nut oil, which surprisingly to some, in its raw state is toxic, but is the basis of many applications in resin chemistry.
As the industry evolved, synthetic substances were found as alternatives or supplements to these materials typically going into Poly Esters and other plastics. Styrene Monomer, Phthalic Anhydride, and Maleic Anhydride were added to the company portfolio, and in the next decade further advances into fibre technologies were incorporated to produce new properties in the end products.
Hence, from these first raw materials a number of downstream uses evolved.Maleic has moved on as primary ingredient for Unsaturated Poly Ester resins.It can be found in oilfield chemicals as both lubricant and heat dispersant, to anti-waxing additives to assist the flow of oil in pipelines. It can be used in detergents, paper seizing, an intermediate for certain pharmaceuticals, as well as uses in desalination and herbicides.
In addition, there are Maleic Anhydride derivative Anhydrides that go into Epoxy resins, for composites and also electrical insulation / encapsulation. On the composite side, some of these anhydrides go into the buoyancy equipment also associated with oilfield.
Composites also touch on applications for the very extensive number of fibres in our range. These can be natural materials like cotton, or advanced synthetics, moving from glass to carbon materials – polyamides including nylon and Kevlar. Once again, the diversity of use of these materials is large.
They can be found in bitumens and as thixotropes for other coatings, in glues, friction linings, paper and rubber.
Added to the range are a range of wood pulp materials with applications in specialist papers.
It`s taken some years, but as these markets evolve, so have the longer term business partnerships Sparkford regards as the basis for success.
