The Radleys Story Timeline

1960s

KEY CHEMISTRY EVENT

1964

The chemical industry helps make the moon landings possible.

Chemists help make the flame resistant, Teflon-coated glass microfibers used to make astronauts' spacesuits.

RADLEYS

1964

Bill Radley sets up his first workshop.

Having previously worked from a council house, Bill Radley now starts renting an old barn to use as a workshop. He is soon joined by Roy Weiss and they begin work on their first major contract - making stopcocks for the scientific glassblowers Springhams.

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RADLEYS

1966

R.B.Radley & Co Ltd is formed.

The company takes out a lease on a factory in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire. Bill's son Mark Radley is born and Roy Weiss, a minority shareholder in the company, becomes his godfather. By the end of the 60s, glassblower Ron Luckin joins the company.

1970s

KEY CHEMISTRY EVENT

1971

Cosmetic chemist Hazel Bishop becomes the first female member of the influential Chemists' Club.

Hazel invented the first kiss-proof lipstick, which used the tagline "stays on you, not on him".

polaroid of a couple looking at a test tube

RADLEYS

1978

Beechams becomes Radleys biggest customer.

Radleys now has around 12 employees, including 6 glassblowers. They are also appointed as the exclusive distributor for US company Bel-Art's SpinBar PTFE magnetic stirring bars.

1980s

KEY CHEMISTRY EVENT

1980

Sir Ewart Jones becomes president of the newly formed Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Welsh chemist is known for his work on the chemistry of natural products like steroids and vitamins, which led to the Jones Oxidation reaction being named after him.

RADLEYS

1980s

Radleys works on pioneering fibre optics technology.

Radleys move to a new factory is funded by winning a large contract to work with Standard Telephones on straightening fibreoptic rods. Standard Telephones pioneered the use of optical fibres for communication.

1990s

RADLEYS

1990s

Radleys gets record breaking sales.

Radleys enters into a royalty agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to manufacture and sell Carousel 12, which breaks sales records when it is launched. They also add several new product lines to their offering, including autoclaves and balances.

KEY CHEMISTRY EVENT

1994

After more than two decades of fierce competition, the cancer drug Taxol is successfully synthesised.

Taxol's synthesis marks a major breakthrough in cancer therapy. Producing the drug was previously slow and expensive because it was made from a toxin which was difficult to extract from the Pacific Yew Tree.

RADLEYS

1998

ChemScience and BioScience launched.

Radleys launches the catalogues ChemScience and BioScience which provide a comprehensive list of lab equipment for chemists, biochemists and microbiologists.

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RADLEYS

1999

Radleys becomes a reseller of Huber's circulators.

Radleys begins a long-lasting relationship with the high tech German company Huber.

2000s

RADLEYS

2000s

Reactor-Ready becomes a game changer for the chemistry industry.

Ed Hartley develops the Reactor-Ready glass lab reactor - a universal workstation that helps save space and money.

RADLEYS

2000s

Bill Radley's son Mark becomes Managing Director.

Radleys expands its office space and takes on several key new staff.

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RADLEYS

2000

Radleys launches its first website and expands its R&D programme.

Radleys begins developing its parallel synthesis range, including the GreenHouse parallel synthesiser, in conjuction with GlaxoSmithKline. They partner with Micronics in Holland - the first of many worldwide distributors they work with.

RADLEYS

2005

2005 Radleys introduces the economical StarFish workstation.

The following year Tornado is launched and Heat-On is added to their portfolio. Radleys becomes an exclusive distributor for Heidolph Instruments.

KEY CHEMISTRY EVENT

2009

Ada Yonath wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Ada won the Nobel Prize for her work on ribosomes, a common target for antibiotics, using bacteria from the Dead Sea.

2010s

RADLEYS

2010s

Radleys enters new global markets.

Radleys appoints its first employee based in Asia and continues to grow as it invests heavily in R&D and manufacturing.

RADLEYS

2014

Radleys introduces its lab automation software.

The lab software AVA is designed to control commonly used chemistry equipment, including hotplates, overhead stirrers, circulators, pumps and balances.