M B Wragg & Co. was formed in 1883 by John Davey Wragg, who named the company in honor of his wife Margaret Bennet Wragg. John D. Wragg was initially an agent for the British tackle maker, S. Alcock & Co. A 1929 advertising cover suggests that manufacturing of the ALPHA fishing tackle began as early as 1929 rather than 1931, as suggested in various established sources. M B Wragg & Co, already a dominant manufacturer of Bakelite Nottingham & Side Cast reels, commenced its production of die-cast metal-bodied thread line fishing reels in the 1950s. The initial ALPHA threadlines with 3 OMEGA models were followed by the CRESTA 400, and then in the early 1960s, by ALPHA 404 and 408, and still later by ALPHA 414 and 416.

 

In the late 1960s M B Wragg & Co. also produced a generic brand reel called the FLEXON, an ambidextrous spinning-casting thread line reel made exclusively for Coles Pty Ltd. Alpha brand rapidly grew in popularity, and the company established export markets in Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The production of reels ended in the mid-1970s. ReeLpedia ® by Bernie Ladd, 3/4/20 13.