When the first samples of gutta percha arrived in England from Malaya, the use of the substance as an electrical insulator was one of the applications investigated. The Gutta Percha Company was formed in 1845 and developed a technique for applying gutta percha to wires as insulation. This lead to their main business of producing cores for submarine telegraph cables. In 1864 the Gutta Percha Company merged with Glass, Elliot, and Company to form the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company Ltd.

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