The Paint Research Association is a research institute, formerly in Teddington, south-west London, and now in

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. It is now known as the PRA.

History

It was established as the Research Association of British Paint, Colour and Varnish Manufacturers in 1926; in 1971 it changed its name to the Paint Research Association. Historically, the main paint manufacturer in the UK has been ICI, under the trade name of ''

Dulux Dulux is an internationally available brand of architectural paint originated from the United Kingdom. The brand name Dulux has been used by both Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and DuPont since 1931 and was one of the first alkyd-based pa ...

''. Its first main research institute building opened in 1936. In 2005, it moved to the Coatings Technology Centre. In 2015, it moved to Melton.

Function

It carried out research for the government and for industry. It claims to be a world authority on

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

and surface coatings.

References

External links

PRA
{{authority control 1926 establishments in the United Kingdom Chemical industry in the United Kingdom Chemical research institutes Borough of Melton Paint and coatings industry Research institutes established in 1926 Research institutes in Leicestershire Research institutes in London