379Complex Manufacturing Situations
a successful working model, which demonstrated the validity of his ideas. In
1799, the French Ministry of the Interior rewarded Robert with a patent for
his invention.
Despite this recognition, commercial success was difcult in the unsettled
French political environment of that period. Didot took the technology to
England and sought the backing of Sealy and Henry Fourdrinier. Under their
sponsorship, full-scale equipment was developed and put into commercial
production without Robert’s help. This production technique spread rapidly
and was named after the brothers who nanced it, rather than its developer.
The Fourdrinier process continues to be the primary source of paper in the
world today. Modern prod ...