Nobels's Explosive Co., previously known as the British Dynamite Co., was formed in 1876 and headquartered in Glasgow, manufacturing both propellants and high explosives at Ardeer and Ayrshire. Nobels Explosives owned two cartridge factories, one at Waltham Abbey (acquired 1907) and a second at Adderly Park, operated by the Birmingham Metals & Munitions Co., (BM&MCo.) a wholly owned subsidiary. (Background: Birmingham Small Arms & Metal Co. (BSA & M.Co.) divided their Small Heath plant in 1897, retaining the small arms factory and adopted a new name, the Birmingham Small Arms Co.  The rolling mills and ammunition plant were sold off to Nobels who set up a separate subsidiary company and renamed their half of the Small Heath plant the Birmingham Metals & Munitions Co.)