The Corona company was bought out by the Beecham Group in 1958 and was transferred to Britvic in 1987. By the end of the 1930s over 170 million bottles of Corona pop were being produced each year - and most of it was sold by the delivery man who came each week to people's doors. William Evans, the guiding force behind the company, died in 1934 but the company continued to expand with his brother Frank assuming control. The outbreak of World War Two caused the company some disruption with lorries - and drivers - being commandeered for war service but soon after 1945 things were back to normal and the Corona pop man was back on his rounds. By 1934 the Porth depot alone was operating 74 motor vehicles - three years later there were over 200 vehicles. The door to door deliveries proved so successful - though they did little to reduce drunkenness - that further factories were opened in places such as Pengam, Maesteg and Bridgend. The glass bottles in which the pop was sold were a valuable commodity and, from the beginning, the company operated a system of 'money back on the bottle', thus ensuring that generations of school children would augment their pocket money by collecting discarded bottles and turning them in to shop and door to door sellers. Parents soon learned that it was best to ration the distribution of the gassy liquid. And they had an immediate appeal for children who were soon drinking large quantities of the product. The fizzy drinks may not have stopped drunkenness but they were hugely popular with all sections of society. More exotic flavours such as American cream soda and dandelion and burdock were soon added to the list. They sold a wide range of drinks, starting with the original orangeade and then moving on to others such as limeade and cherryade. Over 200 salesmen, each driving a horse and cart, were soon operating across south Wales. And so it was decided that the product should be sold, door to door.Ĭorona pop horse and driver (Photo: Alan George ) But although the factory soon became a local landmark, sale of the fizzy drinks had little effect on drunkenness. Their Porth factory was equipped with state of the art machinery in order to bottle the liquids and to clean empty bottles. The rest, as they say, is history.Īfter visiting several manufacturers of carbonated mineral waters - in order to see how it was done - Evans and Thomas were ready for business. It involved fitting each bottle with a glass marble, a rubber washer and a swing top that forced the marble into the neck of the bottle, so forming a tight seal. But then American Hiram Codd invented a revolutionary new system. To begin with manufacturers simply hammered in a cork and wired it tight - a solution that was only partially successful. The problem had always been how to keep the fizz in the bottle. They had already been introduced to soft drinks by a peddler from west Wales - artificial carbonated mineral water had been first produced by Joseph Schweppe in Switzerland in the 18th century and so it was not a new invention. Grocers Evans and Thomas from Porth were determined to find an alternative drink for the miners. The Rhondda Valleys at this time were in the grip of the "coal rush." They were full of coal mines and the pubs of the region did a thriving business as men, after a day down the pit, were desperate to quench their thirst. The firm had its origins in the temperance movement that was so strong in Britain during the final years of the 19th century. The original factory opened in the 1890s under the name of Welsh Hills Mineral Waters, the name Corona only being adopted in the 1920s as the company expanded its range of activities to include all of Wales and many parts of England. The pop - carbonated beverage to give it the correct name - was produced by the Corona Soft Drinks Company, a firm that had been created by two Rhondda grocers, William Evans and William Thomas. And it all began with a small factory in Porth at the foot of the Rhondda valleys. north, avg.Corona pop man (photo: Alan George, )Ĭorona drinks were for so many years, delivered to the doors of houses across the land, first by horse and cart and then by lorry. September and October will bring temperatures close to normal and be a bit drier than usual.įree 2-Month Weather Forecast June 2022 Long Range Weather Forecast for Pacific Southwest Dates The hottest periods will be in mid-June, mid- to late July, and mid- to late August. Summer temperatures will be hotter than normal, with generally above-normal rainfall. April and May will be slightly cooler than normal, with rainfall below normal in the north and above normal in the south. The stormiest period will be in late December. The coldest temperatures will occur from mid-December into mid-January, in mid-February, and in early March. Winter will be warmer and drier than normal, with below-normal mountain snows. Enter Your Location Annual Weather Summary
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