Polychrome GMBH １ By Mr. Bob Gumbinner
Mr.
Halpern attended DRUPA in1962. DRUPA is the largest printing
exhibition in the world. It is held in Dusseldorf, Germany, every
four years. There are many exhibit halls some of which are as large
as the New York Coliseum. I did not attend this DRUPA but went to
many after that. There, Mr. Halpern met Feist and Aurich who owned a
company in West Berlin that made electrically etched aluminum offset
plates. These were not presensitized. The printers coated them with
the light sensitive coatings. He probably also met people from
Ilford. Ilford was the major producer of photographic film in
England. Shortly thereafter, I went with Mr. Halpern to Wet Berlin to
visit the Aufa operation, which we then bought. With Ilford putting
up 40% of the money and Polychrome 60% we established a German
Company, Polychrome GMBH. Leonard Dore of Ilford was made the
chairman of Polychrome GMBH. I visited the Ilford plant in London.
This was the first time I saw the Spiral coater. I had previously
been to plants doing photographic coating where the paper or film was
carried on sticks through the drying tunnel. I also went to Ilford’s
paper coating facilities near Manchester, England. I remember
Manchester as being a dreary place with cobblestone streets; and to
get heat in the hotel room one had to put a shilling in the heater.
When I went to the bar for a drink I could not understand what the
local people were saying, even though they were speaking “English.”
I did not have this problem in London or Scotland.