PZ meaning Paterson Zochonis was named after George Paterson, a Scottish and George Zochonis, a Greek. The story started when many enterprise Europeans were leaving their countries for the West Coast of Africa in search of opportunities. Two such European, George Paterson and George Zochonis formed a close friendship when they worked together for a small trading company at Susan’s bay in Freetown, Sierra Leone called Fisher and Randall in the 1870s. By 1879 the two friends set up a trading post in Freetown at Wilberforce Street called “Paterson Zochonis” (hence the abbreviation PZ). The company incorporated in England, with its head office in Liverpool to deal with West African exports to Europe. Examples of such exports were palm oil produce, groundnuts, coffee and timber. In 1886, the Company’s head office moved to Manchester where it has remained ever since. The company expanded its operations in other African nation’s including Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea and Kenya. The company currently quoted on the London Stock Exchange FTSE 250 under the trading name of PZ Cussons. (Attach are Photo’s of original PZ building and view of Wilberforce Street in Freetown over a century ago and a current Photo of Wilberforce Street and a sign post showing PZ building in late 1980s).
Source:
MybeautifullSierraLeone
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