Celebrating 50 Years of Aquaseal Rubber
7th March, 2023
As we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Aquaseal Rubber, we have been reflecting on our growth and accomplishments over the past half-century and wanted to share this journey with our readers.
Established in 1972 by Eddie Armstrong and five of his friends, Argus Rubber Engineering was formed due to those involved wanting to achieve a better work life balance. The first ten years saw each of Eddie’s five friends parting way with the business as they needed a more regular income, leaving Argus Rubber in the hands of Eddie. It was at this point, that John Curry, a customer of the company who was retiring from a management position elsewhere, joined Eddie as a business partner to support with administration and office work.
Eddie and John successfully ran the business together for ten years, with the two managing to secure the business in a position where Eddie was able to onboard family members and friends to the work force to accommodate for the increasing demand of products.
Sadly, John passed away, leaving the business to Eddie, who continued to put his all into growing and developing the business, surviving the early 1980s recession. Over the years the business grew and moved from Newcastle city centre location to North Shields, and then onto larger premises in Wallsend, where the business was renamed to Aquaseal Rubber Ltd, as we are known to this day. Aquaseal Rubber remains in the North Tyneside area, with full production facilities in our Longbenton Factory, the largest building we have ever occupied.
Although the business has seen family members come and go over the years, family remains at the heart of Aquaseal Rubber, with three family members still currently working for the business, one of which is Eddie’s son Jason, who took over the role of managing director in 2013. Over the past ten years alone, it is safe to say that Aquaseal Rubber have experienced both highs and lows, with the biggest lows being the sad loss of two key figures, Robert Bowles and Eddie Armstrong, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the support of his team, Jason continued to grow Aquaseal Rubber, adapting to, and overcoming the challenges that the business faced.
Aquaseal Rubber would not be where it is today without the hard work and dedication from all staff members, and we wanted to give a special mention to our outgoing production manager, Doug Heslop, who has decided to take early retirement. However, our success is not only down to our workforce, it is also as a result of our customers and suppliers that have continued to work with us over the years. To say thank you to our customers and suppliers for this support, we are holding a huge 50 prize giveaway, click here to find out more.
We look forward to seeing what the next 50 years has in store for Aquaseal Rubber!
