ABOUT US
Learn the history of Wood-Milne
Context:
From an agricultural activity to the birth of a diversified industry with specialized activities. Interwar period (between the end of World War I in 1918 and the start of World War II in 1939).
1890
Mr. Milnes patents a rotating rubber heel design in England.
1896Wood-Milne is founded
Wood-Milne is founded by T.H. Roberts.
At this time, the variety of items manufactured by the company included heels, soles, rubber spikes, tires and inner tubes, motorcycle belts, and golf balls.
1905
Roberts and Whitehead start a rubber company in Leyland, renamed in 1907 the Wood-Milne Rubber Company.
1912
The French company Wood-Milne imports rubber heels from England.
1918
Wood-Milne tires are sold in Portugal.
1919
The British Wood-Milne factory opened a factory in the center of the town of Rueil in 1919.
Its director was the Englishman Edmund Drane Skipper (1899 – 1962), who joined the brothers Henri and Félix de Poix, former trench companions from the 1914 – 1918 war.
Wood-Milne became famous in France for the quality of its products and its advertising campaigns, and for a long time it was recognizable for its great chimney that reached up to the sky.
The installation of the factory in Rueil shows the desire of the Americans to flood the French market with their products.
Since the interwar period, Wood-Milne was already known worldwide for its manufacture of shoe soles and heels, from early equipment to repair by shoemakers.
Wood-Milne created products like Néo-Compost, Duvex and Airlite, which stand out for their lightness and flexibility.
On the other hand, Wood-Milne was recognized for its original form of organization, which grew to around 500 people.
1921The Croix de Lorraine
In 1921 Henri and Félix de Poix left Wood-Milne to create La Croix de Lorraine, dedicated to the manufacture of all kinds of objects: sponges, girdles, sandals, belts… They had up to 300 employees and were in business until the end of 1930.
Paris became in a few years a center of activity where a large number of medium-sized industries were established that gave trade to a number of employees.
1924
Wood Milne was acquired by a subsidiary of the American company, to manufacture the rubber products in England.
1932
French production of heels and rubber soles.
1945
In 1945, the company developed slim, elegant translucent soles.
1950
In 1950, a strike halted production at the Wood-Milne establishments.
However, the company experienced a remarkable boom between the two wars and that continued after the war and into the 1950s and 1960s.
Its shoe manufacturing equipment and tools allowed it to manufacture all items based on rubber, natural and synthetic elastomers, which had continuous and rigorous controls and constant research in its laboratories.
After the war, Wood-Milne developed the Ripple-Sole propellant sole, “the sole that works for you”.
1952Creation of the AIRLITE product
1970Closing
The Wood-Milne factory closed its doors in 1970.
1988
It becomes a public limited company.
2022
The Spanish group Caster, S.A., acquires the assets of Wood-Milne to continue giving continuity to the legendary brand.