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About The Milliput Company
 During the early months of 1968 Jack and Lena Rickman began searching for suitable second hand machinery to mix and extrude epoxy putty. They intended to package the putty for general retail sale, in smaller, handy amounts, for use in car body repair and DIY markets. They set up the mixing machinery in their garage and the extruding and packing facility about a quarter of a mile away. The Milliput Company was born.
A modeller calls
Back In the late 1960s epoxy putty was not a "household" product, nothing much was known about Its attributes for home use, but modellers, ever the innovators of anything remotely suited to their craft had soon latched onto the properties of Milliput. It was during 1970 that a young man telephoned the Company to tell them he had been using Milliput for making models. He suggested they steered the product to the modelling market and took one of his models for Jack and Co, to see what he had achieved. Unfortunately, the Company has since lost touch with the young man, but they did take his advice and placed an advertisement in Military Modelling magazine, and the rest is now history. In addition to the home market the Company export to not only most of Europe, but to Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, etc. There can't be many modellers who haven't heard of Milliput,
What is it?
 The first "yellow-grey" Milliput produced by Jack Rickman In the late 1960s was a two-part epoxy based putty which, when required equal amounts of both halves were mixed together, cured to a hard "greenish" substance that could be cut, filed, sanded, drilled or moulded and painted with very little or no priming. It was water proof and resistant to most solvents that attacked plastic, and lightweight too. The substance and the technology behind it wasn't entirely new, but Jack intended to make it more readily available for everyone and not just specialists or industry. Modellers the World over soon began adopting the substance; military modellers used it to fill gaps in metal models, converting stock figurines, making buildings and scenic base work, or for the production of: master models for commercial purposes. It was soon apparent to the Company that the use of Milliput was limited only by imagination.
The list is endless
Modellers rolled it into thin sheets, press moulded parts with It, learned that talcum powder stopped it sticking which was useful for some applications, took impressions with it, found that water applied with a brush gave it a smooth finished surface. It didn't melt plastics like solvent based fillers, so it was good for plastic kit conversions too, especially fine parts. Modellers soon found that direct and indirectly applied heat accelerated its curing time, and so on, the list is endless. Articles in the model press showed just how many different things could be done with it, and it's little wonder that the large majority of practising commercial figurine designers now use Milliput exclusively,
On sale
By July 1969 Miliput the Company began trading with the stock it had manufactured and built up during the previous months, Jack and Lena spent most of their spare time during the 1970s making and selllng Milliput, ably assisted by members of their family working as part time production workers and sales staff.
The first two years of trading saw a gross profit turned into net losses. However, in 1970 the Milliput Company made its first net profit; heartening news all round. The product was a success and the Company experienced the welcome effect and rewards of steady progress.
On the move
Eddie and Jane Atherton |
Up until the final months of 1979 Jack, Lena and the family had been working flat out to maintain production, and it soon became evident that they were outgrowing their premises; Jack took early retirement from his job as a factory manager and looked for larger space In the Manchester area, but to no avail, it was all too expensive for the Milliput Company's requirements. Quite soon
fortune smiled and the Welsh Development Board was brought to their notice... and rescue! The board was offering factories for rent at affordable prices, so after acceptance of the Company's
future business projection, the brand new factory was made available and in November 1979, the Mllliput Company moved all its machinery and materials to Dolgellau, in Mid Wales.
Jack and Lena moved their home to Dolgellau a fortnight later, a production assistant was employed, and within a few days Millput was in full production once again. Today the Company employs eight workers at its Dolgellau factory producinng around 1.4 million inches of
epoxy putty each year making it a market leader - and not only for the modelling fraternity.
A question of colour
The product was developed further when, in 1982, porcelain restorers usiing Milliput in their work requested a white putty to suit their task more readily than the yellow-grey variety that launched the Company. "Silver Grey" was formulated and a little market research soon revealed military modellers liked the new colour too, However, the pressure was on for a "pure white" putty and "Superfine White" followed in 1983 becoming instantly popular for restorers and, once again, another great success for the Company. In 1992, "Terracotta" Milliput was introduced - its redbrown colour intended for the repair of urns, brickwork, quarry tiles, etc. It goes without saying that the majority of the modelling fraternity have, by now, tried and tested it.
In recent years we have had a number of enquiries from people wanting a Black Milliput and earlier this year this new grade went into production. Professional sculptors and restorers have had the opportunity to test the product prior to production working with marble, slate, ceramics, and ebonised wood, with excellent results.
A worthy award and looking to the future.
In 1991 the Milliput Company received official recognition of their efforts with a prestigous "Rural Enterprise Award" from the Development Board for Rural Wales.
Jack and Lena retired from the business and handed over the running of the company to their son Eddie and his wife, Jane, successfully maintaining the "family" stamp on the Company for the future.
Sadly Jack passed away in 1997, Eddie and Jane continue to run the Company on a day to day basis, with Lena still taking a very active interest in the Company.
The Milliput Company's prime intention is to live up to its policy of - "selling a consistently high quality product at a fair price and to give a service second to none!" There won't be many who would argue with that.
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