The History Of Industrial Rubber

Rubber Products India

François Fresneau produced the first scientific paper on rubber in the year 1751. Since then, this versatile material has come a long way. The para rubber tree initially grew only in South America, and when the first European returned to Portugal from Brazil with water repellent cloth samples, he was taken to court and charged with witchcraft. When rubber initially came to England, Joseph Priestley observed that the material could be used to easily wipe out pencil marks on paper, which is how it got its name.

Although South America was the main source of rubber throughout the 19th century, thousands of seeds were gathered from Brazil and sent to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. The British Planters initiated the first commercial cultivation of natural rubber in India, although there were trial runs performed as early as 1873 at the botanical gardens in Kolkata.

Industrial rubber, as we know it today has indeed come long way from what it was when it was first discovered. The rubber industry in Asia is the largest, and is responsible for over 90% of the world’s rubber. Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are the top three rubber industries, accounting for approximately 72% of all natural rubber production in the world.