Tata Chemicals Europe

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Chemicals
Founded	2005; 20 years ago (2005)
Headquarters	Northwich,Cheshire , England
Key people	Dr Martin Ashcroft-Managing Director. Jo Graham-Chief Operations Officer
Products	Sodium carbonate (soda ash), sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, sodium sesquicarbonate
Parent	Tata Chemicals
Website	Tata Chemicals Europe

Tata Chemicals Europe (formerlyBrunner Mond (UK) Limited) is a UK-basedchemicals company that is a subsidiary ofTata Chemicals, itself a part of the India-basedTata Group. Its principal products aresoda ash,sodium bicarbonate,calcium chloride and associated alkaline chemicals.

Founded in 1873 byJohn Brunner andLudwig Mond andincorporated in 1881, the business became the largest producer of soda ash in the world during the 1890s. In 1917, the company'strinitrotoluene (TNT) factoryin Silvertown, London exploded due to a fire. During 1926, Brunner Mond was one of the four main companies – along withBritish Dyestuffs Corporation,Nobel's Explosives, and theUnited Alkali Company – thatmerged to createImperial Chemical Industries (ICI). During the early 1990s, ICI opted to separate anddemerge some of its soda ash businesses as Brunner Mond Holdings Limited.

During 1997, it wasfloated on theLondon Stock Market before being promptly acquired byprivate equity firms. In early 2006, Brunner Mond was acquired by Tata Chemicals and adopted the Tata Chemicals Europe brand five years later. The firm acquiredBritish Salt during December 2010 and opened the first industrial-scalecarbon capture and usage plant in the UK in 2022. During 2024, it decided to transfer production of soda ash from its Lostock site to a new £60 million facility inNorthwich.

The company was originally formed as apartnership in 1873 byJohn Brunner andLudwig Mond.^[1] While this partnership recorded a loss of £4,300 during its first year, it was able to turn a profit of £2,045 in the following year.^[2] During 1984, they had builtWinnington Works inNorthwich,Cheshire and produced their firstsoda ash. The business wasincorporated as a limited company in 1881.^[2]

Within 20 years the business had become the largest producer of soda ash in the world.^[3] In 1911, it acquired soap and fat manufacturerJoseph Crosfield and Sons andGossage, another soap company that ownedpalm plantations. During 1917, the company'strinitrotoluene (TNT) factoryin Silvertown, London exploded as a result of a fire.^[4][5] In 1919, it sold the soap and chemical businesses toLever Brothers.^[6]

During 1924, Brunner Mond acquired the Magadi Soda Company ofKenya; two years later, Brunner Mond was one of the four main companies – along withBritish Dyestuffs Corporation,Nobel's Explosives, and theUnited Alkali Company – which took part in the merger which created the massive industrial combineImperial Chemical Industries (ICI).Alfred Mond – son of Ludwig and Chairman of Brunner Mond – was a key figure along withHarry 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 theRuncorn-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.^[7][8]

During the early twentieth century, the company built managers' and workers' houses inHartford, Cheshire.^[9] In addition to housing, the firm funded schools, asocial club,library and guildhall facilities.^[2]

In 1991, the British and Kenyan soda ash businesses of ICI were segregated from the rest of the ICI; shortly thereafter, it wasdemerged from ICI as Brunner Mond Holdings Limited.^[8][10] During 1997, the company wasfloated on theLondon Stock Market; one year later, it was bought byprivate equity firms.^[8] In 1998, this company acquired the soda ash production capabilities ofAkzo Nobel inThe Netherlands to form Brunner Mond B.V.^[11]

In early 2006, following regulatory approval, Brunner Mond B. V. was purchased by Tata Chemicals.^[12][13] Five years later, Brunner Mond was re-brandedTata Chemicals Europe.^[8][14]

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, energy costs doubled; as soda ash is energy intensive to produce, the firm responded via the purchase of agas-firedcombined heat & power plant from the European utility firmE.ON and the closure of its soda ash plant in Winnington in early 2014.^[15][16] Furthermore, while soda ash had typically been responsible for generating around 90 percent of the firm's profits, the company opted to pursue diversification; this decision led to the creation of the world’s first standalonesodium bicarbonate plant.^[16][8] Another step towards diversification came in December 2010 when Brunner Mond B. V. acquiredBritish Salt, a Cheshire-based brine supplier, 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.^[17][18][16]

During 2022, Tata Chemicals Europe opened the UK's first industrial-scalecarbon capture and usage plant, which can capture 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.^[19][20] That same year, the firm was also reportedly evaluating the potential purchase of a plant in the Netherlands.^[2] Two years later, Tata Chemicals Europe chose to end the production of soda ash at its Lostock site in favour of a new facility (built at a cost of £60 million) inNorthwich;^[21][22] this closure also caused the neighbouring Imerys Winnofil plant which relies on raw materials from Tata Chemicals Europe to also cease production in early 2025.^[23] This restructuring of the business coincided with the declining value for soda ash.^[24]

• Solvay process
• Silvertown explosion
• Mond gas
• Timeline of hydrogen technologies
• Ludwig Mond Award
• Melchett Medal
• Baron Melchett
• Robert Mond

• Brunner Mond website
• Magadi Soda websiteArchived 24 March 2011 at theWayback Machine

• 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

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