The Scott Bader Commonwealth

Scott Bader Company Limited is a medium sized chemical company manufacturing products for the plastics industry. It is known world‐wide for its development of glass fibre reinforced plastics, and is one of the largest manufacturers of unsaturated polyester resins for that industry. In 1975 it received the Queen's Award for technological innovation. Were it not for the fact that the extensive laboratories, offices and factory are situated in and around a lovely 18th century manor house in a small Northamptonshire village, it looks outwardly like any other chemical company. And yet whenever people speak about participation, common ownership or democracy in industry, sooner or later they will mention Scott Bader. Its world‐wide reputation for the social experiment it has been engaged in for a quarter of a century is at least as well known as its business activities.