EPW020355 ENGLAND (1928). The British Enka Artificial Silk Works, Aintree, 1928

British ENKA was established by the Dutch company ENKA to compete with Courtaulds Limited for the UK and British Empire market for viscose yarns.

Artificial silk which is well known as viscose has excellent properties and is therefore really very similar to silk. Since 1908, ENKA had been manufacturing ENKA viscose in its Ede, The Netherlands, site according to a viscose process developed in England and developed by Courtaulds at Coventry.

Around the same time as they set up the UK plant in Aintree, the mid 20's, they also established a plant in the U S, as did Courtaulds at this time.



ENKA eventually became part of the Dutch giant Akzo-Nobel.

Akzo-Nobel took over the fibres businesses of Courtaulds in the 90's and divested all of the combined fibres businesses into a stand alone company Acordis which was to have its headquarters at Spondon, the home of the former British Celanese Limited. By this time though the British ENKA plant had closed down.