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73
Our Origins
The Reade family’s industrial businesses were originally established in Wolverhampton, England, as Reade Brothers Co., Ltd. in 1773. They manufactured pharmaceutical chemicals and varnishes.
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73
Early Medical Treatments
The firm’s early medical treatments included Egyptian Salve, Indian Cerate, Express Powders, Seidlitz Powders, and other patented medicines as well as agricultural products to help cure ailments in horses and cattle.
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78
Exposition Universelle
At the Exposition Universelle de 1878 in Paris, France, Reade Brothers Co., Ltd., received an Honorable Mention Award on October 21st, 1878, for creative chemistry in the judged category Class 47 of Group V.
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81
Transatlantic Journey
In 1881, Ms. Elizabeth Reade, a successful industrial chemist, and her husband, William, relocated the family specialty chemical manufacturing business unit to New York City and renamed it Reade Manufacturing Co., Inc. (RMC). Quickly, they outgrew their space on Hudson Street and moved RMC’s premises across the river to Grand Street in Hoboken, NJ.
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05
Inorganic Particles
In 1905, RMC started size reducing nonferrous metals to manufacture a conductive paste product. This was the beginning of our proud and successful history in the inorganic particle business.
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41
Metal Powder Division
In 1941, the RMC Metal Powder Division was opened in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The mission was to manufacture railcar and truckload lots of non-ferrous metal powders for government and industrial markets in the Americas. During the Second World War, the RMC Metal Powder Division received two U.S. Army/U.S. Navy “E” Awards for production excellence on January 5th, 1945.
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83
Ownership
Mr. Charles Reade Sr. sold 100% ownership interest in 1983 of the Metal Powder Division of RMC. RMC was later sold to a division of Magnesium Elektron, which has since been acquired by Luxfer. Reade Advanced Materials was established in 1983 by Mr. Charles Reade, Jr. as a new Reade business unit. It continues the historical Chemical Division of the family business as a distributor, toll processor, and packager of specialty chemicals.
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89
Western Expansion
Reade expanded its business and opened a sales office in Reno, NV to meet the growing demand for specialty chemicals being shipped to the West Coast.
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99
Cosmic Excellence
On 10 August 1999, Reade was the recipient of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) “Commitment to Excellence Award”.
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03
Southern Migration
Reade International Ltd. S.A. is opened adjacent to the Panama Canal in the República de Panamá to service customers in Central and South America.
’05
’09
SBA Awards
The U.S. Small Business Administration presents Reade with the “2005 Exporter of the Year Award” and the “2009 Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year Award” for all businesses located in New England.
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’15
5 Generations of Family Leadership
The fifth generation of the Reade family joined the company.
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18
ISO Standards
In April 2018, Reade announced their recent International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 certification.
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20
Providence News Honoree
Providence Business News, PBN, honors President Emily Reade with the “PBN 2020 Leaders and Achievers Award” on August 20, 2020.
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22
Manufacturing Awards
Reade was named an honoree by Providence Business News in the 2022 Manufacturing Award Program for excellence in the family-business category.
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23
New Look, Same Dedication
Reade launches a new logo and a new website to better serve their customers and symbolize the thoughtfulness and care Reade puts into every aspect of its business practices.