Invicta Plastics
{{Infobox company
| name = Invicta Plastics Ltd.
| industry = Manufacturing
| fate = Liquidation
| successor = Make a Material Difference Ltd.
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1946|df=yes}}
| defunct = {{End date|2013}}
| image = File:Invicta Plastics Limited Oadby Headquarters.jpg
| image_caption=The Oadby Headquarters in 2001
| location = {{ubl
| Queen's Road, Leicester
| Oadby, Leicester (demolished 2009)
| Scudamore Rd., Leicester (2009-2013)
}}
| key_people = {{ubl
| Lady Onslow (Chief Executive)
| Edward Jones-Fenleigh (Founder)
}}
| products = {{ubl
| Toys
| Games
| Plastic dinosaurs
| Other plastic goods
}}
| num_employees = 35 (2013)
}}
Invicta Plastics Ltd. was a plastics manufacturing company,{{Cite web|title=INVICTA PLASTICS LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00497753|access-date=2021-02-23|website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk|language=en}} founded in 1946{{Cite web|title=Invicta Plastics Ltd - Company Profile and News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/9356257Z:LN|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Bloomberg.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2007-08-12|title=Invicta Toys and Games|url=http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/road/gbd76/toys.htm|access-date=2021-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812104420/http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/road/gbd76/toys.htm|archive-date=2007-08-12}} by Edward Jones-Fenleigh (Incorporated as a PLC in 1951, previously Invicta Industries).{{Cite web|title=INVICTA PLASTICS LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00497753/filing-history?page=3|access-date=2021-02-27|website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk|language=en}}) They had a headquarters in Oadby up until 2009, when they moved to Scudamore Road, where they remained until their insolvency in 2013. They were particularly known for their production of the Mastermind Board Game. They were also responsible for the manufacture of ‘Red Noses’ for Comic Relief in the 1980s and 1990s.{{Cite web|last=Gyekye|first=Liz|date=2013-03-13|title=Invicta Plastics claims world rPET first|url=https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/invicta-plastics-claims-world-rpet-first-13-03-2013|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Packaging News|language=en}}
History
The company was founded by Edward J. Jones-Fenleigh in 1946, and was incorporated as a PLC in 1951. In the early years of the company, their services included injection moulding, thermoplastic sheet moulding, and vacuum forming.{{Cite web|title=Oadby|url=http://www.wigstonhistoricalsociety.co.uk/Oadby/slides/13-13%20Invicta%20Plastics%20Ltd%20Oadby.html|access-date=2021-02-23|website=www.wigstonhistoricalsociety.co.uk}} In 1951, the company moved to their Oadby headquarters, where it remained until 2009.{{Cite web|title=Borough of Oadby and Wigston Directorate of Development and Consumer Services Planning section|url=https://www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk/files/documents/residential_development_supplementary_planning_document_statement_of_consultation/Residential+Development+Supplementary+Planning+Document+Statement+of+Consultation.pdf|website=Oadby-wigston.gov.uk}} During this period, they served clients such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Reckitt Benckiser.{{Cite web|title=Red Nose company leads way with food-safe plates from recycled bottles|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/good-news/9920893/Red-Nose-company-leads-way-with-food-safe-plates-from-recycled-bottles.html|access-date=2021-02-23|website=The Telegraph|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|date=2006-03-21|title=Invicta Plastics - Client Portfolio|url=http://www.invictagroup.com/client-portfolio.htm|access-date=2021-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321032705/http://www.invictagroup.com/client-portfolio.htm|archive-date=2006-03-21}} The site was demolished, and a Waitrose was built in the location, opening in 2010.{{Cite web|last=Troughton|first=Adrian|date=2019-07-18|title=Waitrose statement reveals new supermarket taking over store|url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/full-statement-waitrose-reveals-new-3106934|access-date=2021-02-27|website=LeicestershireLive|language=en}} The company went into MBO in 2013, where a Management Buyout occurred, with Make a Material Difference Ltd. procuring several divisions of Invicta Plastics Ltd.{{Cite web|last=Media|first=Insider|title=Invicta Plastics assets sold to directors|url=https://www.insidermedia.com/news/midlands/104155-invicta-plastics-assets-sold-directors|access-date=2021-02-27|website=Insider Media Ltd|language=en}}
Notable Products
File:Invicta Electronic Master Mind Game.jpg
Mastermind or Master Mind, is a code-breaking board game for two players launched in 1971. It was one of the more prominent products of the company, with them professing sales in excess of a million units. The success of the game led to them winning the Queen’s Award for Export in 1978.{{Cite web|date=2006-03-21|title=Invicta Plastics - Plastic Injection Moulding Company|url=http://www.invictagroup.com/about-us.htm|access-date=2021-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321032833/http://www.invictagroup.com/about-us.htm|archive-date=2006-03-21}} They also made a handheld electronic device based on the game.{{Cite web|title=Invicta Master Mind|url=http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/invicta.html|access-date=2021-02-23|website=www.vintagecalculators.com}}
Invicta Plastics also produced a line of plastic dinosaurs in conjunction with the British Natural History Museum from 1974.{{Cite web|title=The INVICTA DINOSAURS gave me quite a surprise.|url=https://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/invicta-dinosaurs.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223211951/https://www.dinosaur-toys-collectors-guide.com/invicta-dinosaurs.html|archive-date=2021-02-23|website=Dinosaur Toys Collectors Guide}}
The company manufactured the Comic Relief ‘Red Noses’ for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s. Of particular note, in 1995, they produced heat responsive colour changing noses.{{Cite web|title=History of Invicta Plastics|url=http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/road/gbd76/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2001-04-17|website=Invicta group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010417034618/http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/road/gbd76/index.htm}}