Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was a constituent of the FT 30 and later the FTSE 100 indices.
The Solvay process or ammonia–soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia–soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s. The ingredients for this are readily available and inexpensive: salt brine (from inland sources or from the sea) and limestone (from quarries). The worldwide production of soda ash in 2005 was estimated at 42 million tonnes, which is more than six kilograms (13 lb) per year for each person on Earth. Solvay-based chemical plants now produce roughly three-quarters of this supply, with the remaining being mined from natural deposits. This method superseded the Leblanc process.
Ludwig Mond FRS was a German-born British chemist and industrialist. He discovered an important, previously unknown, class of compounds called metal carbonyls.
Sir John Tomlinson Brunner, 1st Baronet, was a British chemical industrialist and Liberal Party politician. At Hutchinson's alkali works in Widnes he rose to the position of general manager. There he met Ludwig Mond, with whom he later formed a partnership to create the chemical company Brunner Mond & Co., initially making alkali by the Solvay process. As a Member of Parliament he represented Northwich, Cheshire, in 1885–1886 and then from 1887 to 1910. He was a paternalistic employer and as a politician supported Irish Home Rule, trade unions, free trade, welfare reforms and, leading up to the First World War, a more sympathetic stance towards Germany. Brunner was a prominent Freemason, and a generous benefactor to the towns in his constituency and to the University of Liverpool. He is the great grandfather of the Duchess of Kent.
Winnington is a ward and northwestern suburb of the town of Northwich, in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England.
Tata Chemicals Limited is an Indian multinational corporation with interests in chemicals, crop protection and specialty chemistry products. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and has operations across India, Europe, North America and Africa. Tata Chemicals is a part of the Tata Group and its shares are traded on the NSE and BSE. Tata Chemicals has a publicly listed subsidiary called Rallis India.
United Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890, employing the Leblanc process to produce soda ash for the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in 1926 with Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives and British Dyestuffs Corporation to form Imperial Chemical Industries.
Lucky Core Industries Limited, formerly known as ICI Pakistan, is a Pakistani conglomerate company headquartered in Karachi. It manufactures polyester, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, soda ash, and veterinary medicine.
Joseph Crosfield was a businessman who established a soap and chemical manufacturing business in Warrington, which was in the historic county of Lancashire and is now in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. This business was to become the firm of Joseph Crosfield and Sons.
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. When conditions returned to normal post war, the Gossage brand was not revived by Unilever though the company name is still registered for legal purposes. The online 'Times Index' shows meetings of the Gossage company board until the early 1960s.
William Gossage was a chemical manufacturer who established a soap making business in Widnes, Lancashire, England.
John Hutchinson was a chemist and industrialist who established the first chemical factory in Widnes, then Lancashire now Cheshire, England. He moved from working in a chemical factory in St Helens and built his own chemical factory in 1847 in the Woodend area of Widnes near to Widnes Dock by the junction of the Sankey Canal and the River Mersey. In this factory he manufactured alkali by the Leblanc process.
Harry Duncan McGowan, 1st Baron McGowan KBE LLD DCL, was a prominent Scottish industrialist who served as Chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries for 20 years.
The Magadi Soda Company manufactures soda ash at the Kenyan town of Magadi, which is in southwestern Kenya. It is the largest manufacturer of soda ash in Africa. The company was founded in 1911 and mines trona from Lake Magadi, in the Rift Valley. Lake Magadi has one of the purest surface deposits of trona. The trona is converted by Magadi to soda ash, at a facility near the mining operations, and the soda ash is transported by rail to Mombasa for onward shipping.
Charles Wigg was an English manufacturer of chemicals in Runcorn, Cheshire, England. After working as an export agent in Liverpool he joined with two managers of a Runcorn chemical factory to build what was initially known as the Old Quay Chemical Works, and later became Wigg Works. At first the works manufactured soap and alkali, but soon moved to extracting copper from pyrites ash, and later making bleaching powder and ferric oxide. During the later part of the 19th century it was one of the most successful businesses in Runcorn. Charles Wigg retired from the business shortly after it was taken over by the United Alkali Company and died eight years later. The site of the factory has been developed into a nature reserve called Wigg Island.
The Billingham Manufacturing Plant is a large chemical works based in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England. In agricultural terms, it is one of the most important factories in Britain.
The Statue of Ludwig Mond stands outside the entrance to Mond House in Brunner Mond Works, Winnington, Cheshire, England. Ludwig Mond was born in Germany but spent most of his working life in England. He moved to England in 1862 and joined the business of John Hutchinson in Widnes. Wishing to develop a better process for the production of alkali than the Leblanc process, he joined in partnership with John Brunner, who also worked for Hutchinson, to improve the ammonia-soda process, building a factory for this purpose at Winnington. In time the factory became the largest producer of soda in the world. Mond went on to work with other chemical processes, especially those involving nickel. He also became an art collector, bequeathing much of his collection to the nation. His statue was designed by Édouard Lantéri, and was unveiled by Brunner in 1913. It was moved in 1995 to stand next to the statue of Brunner in front of the offices of Brunner Mond in Winnington. The statue is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
The Statue of Sir John Brunner stands outside the entrance to Mond House in Brunner Mond Works, Winnington, Cheshire, England. Sir John Brunner was an English industrialist, politician and local benefactor. He joined the alkali manufacturing company of John Hutchinson in Widnes in 1861, eventually becoming the office manager. While working there one of its chemists, Ludwig Mond decided to leave and build a factory to produce alkali by the ammonia-soda process, and Brunner joined him as a partner. The factory was built at Winnington, and in time it became the largest producer of soda in the world. Brunner then took an interest in politics, and was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Northwich, holding the seat for over 30 years. The business had made him a rich man, and he was a generous benefactor in the local area. His statue was designed by Goscombe John, and was unveiled in 1922. It was moved in 1995 to stand next to the statue of Mond in front of the offices of Brunner Mond in Winnington. The statue is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
Silvertown War Memorial, also known as Silvertown Explosion Memorial, is a war memorial in Silvertown, in East London. It serves as a memorial for the workers at the Brunner Mond chemical plant who were killed on active service during the First and Second World Wars, while also commemorating the people killed in the Silvertown explosion on 17 January 1917. It became a Grade II listed building in 1999.
The Buxton lime industry has been important for the development of the town of Buxton in Derbyshire, England, and it has shaped the landscape around the town.
