NP Aerospace: Company History

In September 1685 Augustin Courtauld VI from La Rochelle, France (a Huguenot refugee) sought sanctuary in England, as did 40,000 of his fellow Huguenots during that period. Augustin was a Gold and Silversmith and successfully sold his skills to the "Courts" of the day.

However some generations later the family, disenchanted with the Gold and Silver Trades, apprenticed George Courtauld to Peter Merzeau a Silk Weaver in Spitalfields, London - a decision which was to "plant the seed" of a "100,000 people global company!"

In 1905, following enormous demand for silk, Samuel Courtald took the inspirational decision to not only obtain a licence to make artificial silk from the Silk Institute in Kew, London, but also took the step to buy the exclusive rights to Charles Frederick Topham's unique Box Spinning Machine. This decision was pivotal and Courtaulds dominated the world of artificial fibre production for the next six decades.

The first spinning boxes were made from aluminium sealed in natural rubber to prevent oxidisation of the aluminium. Seeking a more economical and less labour intensive method of manufacture, Courtaulds produced the the first Bakelite Spinning Box in 1926 and the Courtaulds Bakelite Moulding team now known as NP Aerospace Ltd was born.

The name over the door may have changed many times over the years but the technical excellence of our pioneering heritage remains the hallmark of our unique team today. Just as the innovative thinking that made the company a success at it's roots, our dedication to the development of newer, better materials, products and production methods drives us to this very day.

NP Aerospace is now one of the largest thermosetting moulding companies in Europe. We manufacture an extensive range of products in engineering thermoset and composite materials for a wide variety of customers in the Defence, Aerospace, Electrical, Automotive and Medical Industries.

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