175 YEARS OF ELSOMS HISTORY In 2019, we marked Elsoms’ 175th anniversary year. We have come a long way from our origins as a rope making company to establishing ourselves as the UK’s leading independent seed specialists, plant breeder and successful innovator in seed technology. Isaac Elsom 1844 1844 Isaac Elsom establishes the company as a rope and twine maker at the Ropewalk, Spalding 1863 Isaac and his family move from Pinchbeck Road to New Road. This serves as both the family home and business headquarters for the next 30 years 1885 The name of the business changes from ‘Isaac Elsom, Rope and Twine Manufacturer’ to ‘Elsom and Son, Rope and Yarn Manufacturer, Sack and Seed Merchants’ The Ropewalk 1886 At the age of 63, Isaac hands over the business to his third son, George, aged 25 1894 Elsoms reaches its 50th year George Elsom 1901 George dies of tuberculosis, aged 41, and his eldest son, George, leaves school aged 14 to help his mother run the business 1906 George, aged 20, takes over full control of the business 1910 The first Elsoms catalogue of vegetable and flower seeds is produced 1887 George adds netting and covers to the range of manufactured products at the Ropewalk 1918-19 Rope manufacturing ceases following the war. Elsoms continues to trade in ropes and twines by buying them in 1920s Elsoms has an extensive root seed contracting business with wholesale trade George and his youngest brother, Bert, form a partnership and buy a warehouse to become a cereal processing plant Always wanting to expand beyond flower and vegetable seed, George gradually adds rootcrops, clovers and grasses to the catalogue, followed by cereals 1934 (above) A row of houses on Broad Street, bought by George and Bert, are demolished and in December are ready to use as the new headquarters. Bert’s 13 year old son officially opens the building, named Elsom House 1930s George and Bert set up the English Sugar Beet Company 1939 Wheat stocks go on sale and prove popular 1939 Wheat stocks go on sale and prove popular John Keeling 1940s Elsoms is still predominantly a family business, however both George’s and Bert’s sons had died and there was no apparent family successor. George contacts John Keeling, joint manager at another seed company, to join Elsoms instead of joining the forces – which the Ministry of Agriculture agrees would be in the national interest for him to do so 1943 (above) Elsoms (Spalding) Limited is formally incorporated on December 4th 1943 and George, Bert and John hold equal shares Florimond Desperez appoints Elsoms as his UK agent Florimond Desperez 1943 Work on a new warehouse starts on Bert’s land, next to the cemetery on Pinchbeck Road. It was later named the Albert Warehouse, in memory of Bert. A new cereal processing plant is added later 1944 Elsoms reaches its 100th year 1947 Bert suddenly dies in November, aged 54 1950s Elsoms’ international reputation is established. Much attention is focused on cereals The herbage department is building up a significant export market, supplying to France, Belgium and Germany Elsoms’ maincrop onion seed is increasing in popularity – which is the beginning of what will become a major expansion of Elsoms’ vegetable seed division Tony Hewitt (later becomes the Vegetable Seed Director) George Elsom (second left) 1952 Elsoms is awarded the World Rye Championship, and on three occasions in the next six years wins the World Winter Wheat Championship George completes his 50th year with the company 1954 HM The Queen Mother presents the ‘Best Stand’ award to George at the 1954 Norfolk Show 1957 George Elsom dies in April in the grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle while visiting a friend with his wife George Elsom 1960s George was a founder member of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany at Cambridge, and served on councils for the UK Seed Trade Association and the National Association of Corn and Agricultural Merchants John Keeling becomes Chairman and Managing Director. He sets up a policy committee and from then on there would be a concentration on seeds, excluding other aspects which Elsoms had been associated with 1960s John aims to decentralise the company, wanting to look into a cheaper grade of seed to be processed where it was grown instead of being transported to Spalding. The scheme is an immediate success. To overcome the problem of growers not having their own machinery, John has the idea of a mobile cleaning plant where County Seed staff would travel to the localities with machinery County Seeds is formed, a subsidiary set up by Elsoms to meet the demand for cheaper cereal John Keeling (far right) 1963 Elsoms vegetable division further develops – after analysis of potential markets, main programmes of Brussels sprouts, onions and carrots start, with secondary programmes in beetroot and parsnip Joe Godber (Minister of Agriculture) and John Keeling Anthony Keeling (far right) 1966 Elsoms forms a consortium, Unicorn Plant Breeders, a jointly owned company to coordinate cereal trials and plant breeding work 1965 Anthony Keeling becomes a director Anthony Keeling 1968 A reorganised and enlarged cleaning plant is completed A warehouse is erected to provide a new home for the vegetable department. Subsequently, the Ropewalk was closed, after more than 120 years since Isaac Elsom’s original place of business 1969 Elsoms reaches its 125th year 1970s Elsom House is closed and plans drawn up for a new two-storey office block at Pinchbeck Road New computer systems are installed, to computerise all Elsoms’ orders, invoicing and sales records 1974 The new office block is ready for occupation and later receives a Spalding Civic Society award for its simple and appropriate architecture Anthony Keeling, Frank Nicholson, Victor Desprez and John Keeling 1970 Following the move to one site, John Keeling remains as Company Chairman with Anthony Keeling as Managing Director After more than a decade of consolidating Elsoms’ sites, all the separate aspects are now on a single site Elsoms agrees a long-term exclusive distribution arrangement with Bejo for outdoor vegetables, and also to work together on joint breeding programmes 1980s John Keeling dies, aged 71. The close and effective working relationship between John and Anthony enables a smooth transition John Keeling As trade in vegetable seeds steadily increases in importance, Elsoms begins priming in large commercial quantities for major outdoor vegetables From approximately 1000 plots in 1960, Elsoms’ trials and breeding extended to around 100,000 plots 1983 Elsoms installs equipment to begin production of treated seed and also treat Bejo seed for UK distribution. Within 3-4 years, the majority of UK onions are being drilled from seed treated by Elsoms The Unicorn partnership is brought to a close Sue Kennedy (Vegetable Breeding Technician) 1989 The lab is extended to permit more sophisticated cereal testing and move into vegetable anther culture 1994 Elsoms reaches its 150th year Elsoms staff together for a 150th anniversary photo 1990s In 1993 Elsoms receives accreditation to BS5750 Part 2, and was one of the first major seed companies to achieve this Elsoms begins breeding purple sprouting broccoli, which was later incorporated into a joint breeding programme with Bejo 2000s 2006 Elsoms signs a licence with Incotec, becoming partners in seed treatment and technology 2008 After more than 10 years of breeding hybrid swede, the first varieties from the breeding programme are marketed 2009 Roger Keeling, Anthony’s son, becomes Chairman of Elsoms, with Anthony as Deputy Chairman Anthony Keeling (front right), Rae Cook (later Head of Seed Treatment, centre) and Robin Wood (later Deputy Chairman, centre right) Roger Keeling Stephen Smith (Head of Wheat Breeding, Elsoms Wheat) 2013 Elsoms Wheat is established as a joint venture between Elsoms, Nordsaat and ASUR Plant Breeding. The formation has tripled the size of Elsoms’ wheat breeding programme, allowing the breeding of robust wheat varieties for the UK Elsoms begins to work closely with Saaten Union, making their specialist varieties available to UK farmers and growers 2017 Elsoms’ top selling oilseed rape variety, Elgar, is added to the AHDB recommended list Elsoms Wheat’s first four varieties, Dunston, Bennington, Freiston and Moulton, are added to the AHDB recommended list 2018 Elsoms Ackermann Barley is established, securing a foundation for the development of high-quality barley varieties for the UK Elsoms Wheat’s next two varieties, Elicit and Elation, are added to the AHDB recommended list David Clay (Brassica Crop Manager) David Coop (Research, Development and Marketing Director) and Mark Nightingale (Oilseed Rape Breeder and Technical Manager) 2019 Elsoms re-enters the oilseed rape market with a new breeding programme Elsoms and Bejo launch Burgundy, the UK’s first purple wholehead broccoli Elsoms reaches its 175th year