Tata Chemicals Europe (formerly Brunner Mond (UK) Limited) is a UK-based

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

s company that is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Limited, itself a part of the India-based

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

. Its principal products are

soda ash Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...

, sodium bicarbonate,

calcium chloride Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide. Ca ...

and associated alkaline chemicals.

History

The original company was formed as a partnership in 1873 (becoming a limited company in 1881) by John Brunner and

Ludwig Mond Ludwig Mond FRS (7 March 1839 – 11 December 1909) was a German-born, British chemist and industrialist. He discovered an important, previously unknown, class of compounds called metal carbonyls. Education and career Ludwig Mond was born ...

. They built

Winnington Winnington is a small, mainly residential area of the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. Industry Winnington is the home to Brunner Mond UK chemical works, where soda ash is created. Polythene, the material used in many plastic items (e.g ...

Works in Northwich, Cheshire and produced their first soda ash in 1874. In 1911 it acquired soap and fat manufacturer Joseph Crosfield and Sons and

Gossage Gossage is a family name of soapmakers and alkali manufacturers. Their company eventually became part of the Unilever group. During World War II, all soap brands were abolished by British government decree in 1942, in favour of a generic soap. Whe ...

, another soap company that owned

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

plantations. A few years later it sold the soap and chemical businesses to

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

. In 1917, the company's

trinitrotoluene Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...

(TNT) factory in Silvertown, London exploded having caught fire. In 1924 Brunner Mond acquired the Magadi Soda Company of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and in 1926 Brunner Mond was one of the four main companies – along with

British Dyestuffs Corporation British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd was a British company formed in 1919 from the merger of British Dyes Ltd with Levinstein Ltd. The British Government was the company's largest shareholder, and had two directors on the board. Background By 191 ...

, Nobel's Explosives Limited, and the United Alkali Company – which took part in the merger which created the massive industrial combine Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Alfred Mond – son of Ludwig and Chairman of Brunner Mond – was a key figure along with Harry McGowan of Nobel's in bringing this merger about. The Brunner Mond business was absorbed into the Alkali Group of ICI, becoming one of the largest and most successful companies in the world (ICI acquired Crosfield and Gossage's chemicals business from Unilever in 1997.) The Alkali Group became the Alkali Division in 1951. This merging with the

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

-based General Chemicals Division in 1964 to form Mond Division. This became the Soda Ash Products (Group) of ICI Chemicals and Polymers from 1986 until divestment. Sandbach cemetery memorial plaque

During the early twentieth century the company built managers' and workers' houses in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, Cheshire. In 1991, Brunner Mond Holdings Limited, rapidly

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

, was formed by the British and Kenyan soda ash businesses of ICI. In 1998 this corporation gained the soda ash production capabilities of

Akzo Nobel Akzo Nobel N.V., stylized as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational company which creates paints and performance coatings for both industry and consumers worldwide. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countrie ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to form Brunner Mond B.V. This expanded, three-base, form was later re-acquired by its parent company. Brunner Mond acquired British Salt, a Cheshire-based brine supplier, in 2010 for around £93 million. This vertical acquisition gave longer term raw commodity price certainty and an economy of transport distance for one of the company's largest factories. The company was bought by Tata Chemicals in 2006. In April 2011, Brunner Mond was re-branded Tata Chemicals Europe. In 2022, Tata Chemicals Europe set up the UK's first industrial-scale carbon capture and usage plant, which can capture 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.

References

External links

Brunner Mond website

Magadi Soda website
{{Authority control Chemical companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies of England Companies based in Cheshire British subsidiaries of foreign companies Northwich Manufacturing companies established in 1873 1873 establishments in England British companies established in 1873 Tata Chemicals

History

See also

References

External links