Northern Rubber Company
The Northern Rubber Company was a UK manufacturer of India rubber products based in Retford, Nottinghamshire. It was founded in 1871 by Alfred Pegler, who bought the Victoria Works on Thrumpton Lane and began making rubber goods such as hoses, protective aprons, rubber sheets and hot-water bottles with help from his sons Stephen and Frank. By 1881 the workforce included 21 men, 11 boys and 13 women, and by 1914 about 400 people were producing rubber fittings for railways, ships and mines.
After Alfred Pegler died in 1899, his son Frank took over, established a laboratory with chemist Herbert Rogers, and helped pioneer synthetic, oil- and solvent-resistant rubber for industrial use. Frank also served as chairman of the India Rubber Manufacturers Association in 1904. The company expanded in 1911 to a Textile Division making waterproof fabric, and in 1914 it became a limited company with Frank Pegler as chairman.
Over the years the board included Francis E. Pegler (Frank’s son) and other relatives tied to the business. The proximity to two railways helped its growth. In 1965 the Northern Rubber Company was bought by Peglers Ltd for £660,000 and became Peglers (Holdings) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary with about 600 employees.
In the 1990s the company began making steering column components for the Nissan Primera. In 2001 it was acquired by Icon Polymer Group and was renamed Icon Northern Rubber Ltd (2001–2005), then Icon Polymer Ltd, and in 2016 it became Icon Aerospace Technology Ltd, focusing on engineered polymer parts for aerospace and defence, including aircraft seals and hoses. The Retford site on Thrumpton Lane remained, though parts of the legacy site were sold and redeveloped for housing and retail.
Icon Aerospace Technology struck deals to supply its in-flight refuelling hose, Flexiflow, to Cobham Mission Systems for use on Airbus A330 MRTT and Boeing KC-46, making Icon the UK’s only manufacturer of such hoses. In 2018 Icon and its partner invested heavily in a new manufacturing facility, and the business then underwent a management buyout to Crosslink Technology Holdings. In 2020 Integrated Polymer Solutions acquired Icon Aerospace Technology.
Originally the company produced products from natural India rubber and later developed Leatherite, a high-strength material used for high-pressure joints and resistant to acids and alkalis. It also exhibited Leatherite and Nordoil at the 1937 British Industries Fair. Today, as Icon Aerospace Technology Ltd, the company designs and manufactures custom polymer components—engine seals, fabric-reinforced seals, hoses and rubber-to-metal bonding solutions—for aerospace and defence customers such as Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Bombardier.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:10 (CET).