By 1913, the Germans had provided 80% of the
dyes used in Britain. Even the 20% that was produced in the
US was mainly reliant on German intermediates. Stocks of dyes and intermediates were exhausted when
World War I broke out in 1914, putting the textile industry in jeopardy. This situation was criticised in particular by
Ivan Levinstein. In July 1915, British Dyes, Ltd., was created and bought Read Holliday & Sons of
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. In 1919,
Levinsteins merged with British Dyes, which became the country's largest dye maker and was renamed the British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd. Sir Joseph Turner and Dr. Herbert Levinstein became the joint managing directors of BDC. It became one of the four British chemical companies which merged in 1926 with
Brunner Mond,
Nobel Explosives, and
United Alkali Company to form
Imperial Chemical Industries. That year, BDC developed and patented a process for the prevention of
mildew in textile fabrics by the use of halogenated
phenols. The decision to become part of it was made in the face of the threat posed after the establishment of
IG Farben, which threatened to dominate the European market. The company had manufacturing sites at
Dalton, Huddersfield,
Blackley, Manchester, and
Ardeer, North Ayrshire. ==See also==