Alfred Nobel The name of Alfred Nobel is now known primarily thanks to the prize he created. During his lifetime, his reputation was completely different: Nobel was called the "king of dynamite" and "mass murderer"

Entering the markets of other countries. Dynamite making

The first plant of the Nobel company appeared in Germany, in Krummel - in a valley far from the settlements. Before its creation, Alfred enlisted the support of local Swedish merchants - Wilhelm and Theodor Winkler - as well as the lawyer Bardman.

With the participation of their capital, the company "Alfred Nobel and K" was registered . It expanded rapidly, opening a factory near Hamburg. The finished products were sent from there to many countries of the world.

One of the first countries where Nobel received a patent was Britain, but gunpowder was preferred here. While promoting nitroglycerin, Nobel visited the kingdom: conducted public trials, forged connections and increased sales in Wales.

In 1866, Nobel arrived in the United States. Here, nitroglycerin was already popular, and it would have been easy to promote it, but Alfred was out of luck: shortly before his arrival , a nitroglycerin warehouse in San Francisco exploded . Nobel did carry out the tests and in the process explained that nitroglycerin is safe if you follow the precautions.

Alfred conducted the demonstration himself. For those present, it looked risky: for example, the experimenter poured nitroglycerin on a stone and set fire to the liquid, but there was no explosion. He also threw a box of nitroglycerin from a cliff, but there was no explosion this time either. Nobel explained at what temperature nitroglycerin explodes and why it is safe to transport.

Nobel explained the reasons for the explosion at the warehouses in San Francisco by the fact that an accidental spark got on the sawdust soaked in nitroglycerin, and proved his conclusion experimentally. The demonstration had a positive impact on the press and everyone present.

There is information that it was followed by a conversation with a special federal commission. Here Alfred was forced to admit that he did not know all the reasons that could provoke an explosion of nitroglycerin.

In the same period, a trial with Scheffner will take place, which Nobel won. Then the adventurer suggested that Alfred work together, and he agreed: Schaeffner had connections with the US government and the original way of packaging nitroglycerin.

The company created in America was named Blasting Oil. Scheffner became its president and for a time succeeded in this position. Alfred brought in several more people to the company and began construction of a plant in San Francisco, which was delayed due to difficulties in raising capital. The enterprise turned out to be international: Swedish engineers, Chinese workers and American managers. At first, it was easy to get contracts, and profits grew.

Despite this, the American company Nobel could not bring himself into an asset. In the United States, it was difficult to raise the necessary capital, fraudsters constantly interfered in business, and besides, local producers of gunpowder did not retreat from the struggle. The most stubborn of these was Henry Dupont, who launched a grandiose press campaign against nitroglycerin, but something else did the main damage.

Due to the success of nitroglycerin , a huge number of clandestine manufacturers appeared, producing low-quality counterfeits. This created competition and undermined the reputation of Nobel's nitroglycerin. Alfred's partners, hiding behind a company, carried out various shenanigans and adventures.

It all ended with Alfred leaving the business in the United States, retaining a stake in Athlantic Giant Powder Company, which eventually acquired the rights to produce nitroglycerin. It was not possible to make money on this: when Nobel sells his share in 1885, he will receive only $ 20 thousand.

The return of the entrepreneur to Europe was very opportune. His business was going through hard times due to a series of explosions of nitroglycerin on a ship in transit, in a warehouse, and also at a plant in Krümmel. Substance-related bans and restrictions have emerged in a number of countries.

The plant had to be reconstructed, and Nobel began to create a safer product. He considered the main problem of nitroglycerin to be a liquid state, which made it difficult to transport and made it extremely unstable. Nobel began experimenting with various materials, including cement, and eventually turned his attention to diatomite (diatomaceous earth).

Mixed with three parts nitroglycerin, the final product was a thick paste with an explosive force five times that of gunpowder. Nobel placed this mass in special cardboard tubes. This is how dynamite (from the ancient Greek "force") appeared.

There are many legends about the creation of dynamite. According to one of them, iron bottles with nitroglycerin were separated by a diatomite pad during transportation. One of the bottles leaked, and Nobel drew attention to the mixture of nitroglycerin and diatomite, which allowed him to create a revolutionary product. This version was refuted by Nobel himself, and it is of interest only to fans of alternative history.

The invention of dynamite led to attempts to sell it to states and private entrepreneurs. Alfred had to repeat almost the same path that he went with nitroglycerin: at first, the development was treated with distrust and was not allowed to be used in mines.

To change the general opinion, Nobel had enough demonstrative tests in mines in Germany. Then he, as before, received patents in different countries and promoted products on their market.

In Britain, due to the efforts of competitors, it was forbidden to sell and transport any products related to nitroglycerin, but Nobel came out the winner here too. He took advantage of Scotland 's special status, tested and established a factory there, and later achieved sales in the rest of Britain. However, due to restrictions, dynamite was transported not by train, but in horse-drawn carts.

At the same time, the entrepreneur increased the capacity of his factories and opened new ones. In 1867, only 11 tons of dynamite were produced, and in 1875 - already 8 thousand tons.

France had a state monopoly on the production of explosives, and even an audience with Napoleon III did not change the situation. In this country, Alfred worked together with Paul Barb, a former officer and owner of metallurgical plants.

Their joint initiative to build a plant in France did not receive government support. It was only in 1875 that Barbu managed to bring the idea to life . However, the possibilities of the enterprise were limited, and it was forbidden to sell dynamite in France. Barb and Nobel were forced to concentrate on Belgium.