Background
Frood was born in Doncaster, a town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where he grew up. His father was Charles Trefusis Frood, born on 1 December in 1827 in Surrey.
Frood was born in Doncaster, a town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where he grew up. His father was Charles Trefusis Frood, born on 1 December in 1827 in Surrey.
He is known for being the inventor of brake pads. He was the oldest of four children. Herbert Frood"s training was not in engineering.
Frood started the Herbert Frood Company in around 1905, having started in the engineering business in 1897.
His company developed friction surfaces for vehicle braking systems Ferodo
Whereas other inventors concentrated on the means of placing pressure on the vehicle wheel in the braking system, Frood was one of the few to simply look at the type of material being used for contacting the wheel"s surface - a more efficient frictional surface.
He developed better brakes because of the inadequacies of (primitive) shoe brakes on the Derbyshire hills. After the success of his invention, Frood started a new company called Ferodo (based on the letters of his name, with an additional "East").
His invention initially used solid woven cotton impregnated with natural resins for brake pads (friction linings).
Later phenol formaldehyde resins were used. Frood became Joint Managing Director of Ferodo with William Horrocks. On 21 January 1920, Ferodo Limited. was floated on the London Stock Exchange.
Frood retired in 1927.