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Smith & McLaurin were the creators of BullDog Gummed Tapes
I was intrigued to find, In a dusty old accounts ledger,an entry showing the registration of the Bulldog Trademark for £10.00 on 9th March, 1936. As the Marketing Manager, it was interesting to see confirmation that marketing and branding has always played an important role within the company. Given the wealth of experience and information available from the people who work here, it was relatively easy to get further background on our gummed tape business. 
With the strap-line “One bite and it sticks” , our gummed tapes formed a large part of our business; in fact at its peak in 1966 we were selling up to 80 tonnes of the material per week. We had two 1.5 metre wide coaters, four slitters and nine printers which were used to print customer logos on the rolls of tape before they were sent out. We supplied the gummed tape for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) as well as packing tape for several ice-cream manufacturers including Ripley’s and Walls. This material had other more interesting uses as George Scarff our Purchasing Manager recalls “Our gummed paper was also cut into oblong shapes, wet and then sprinkled with birdseed and used at the bottom of budgie cages.”
Towards the end of 1978 sales began to decline due to other alternatives becoming available on the market and Smith & McLaurin’s own decision to focus on electrostatic papers and a few years later what was left of the business was sold.
Posted on 06 July, 2009
