, September 1918 The company was originally formed as a
partnership in 1873 by
John Brunner and
Ludwig Mond. 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. Within 20 years the business had become the largest producer of soda ash in the world. In 1911, it acquired soap and fat manufacturer
Joseph Crosfield and Sons and
Gossage, another soap company that owned
palm plantations. During 1917, the company's
trinitrotoluene (TNT) factory
in Silvertown, London exploded as a result of a fire. In 1919, it sold the soap and chemical businesses to
Lever Brothers. During 1924, Brunner Mond acquired the Magadi Soda Company of
Kenya; two years later, Brunner Mond was one of the four main companies – along with
British Dyestuffs Corporation,
Nobel's Explosives, 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-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. In addition to housing, the firm funded schools, a
social club,
library and guildhall facilities. During 1997, the company was
floated on the
London Stock Market; one year later, it was bought by
private equity firms. In early 2006, following regulatory approval, Brunner Mond B. V. was purchased by Tata Chemicals. Five years later, Brunner Mond was re-branded
Tata Chemicals Europe. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, energy costs doubled; as soda ash is energy intensive to produce, the firm responded via the purchase of a
gas-fired combined heat & power plant from the European utility firm
E.ON and the closure of its soda ash plant in Winnington in early 2014. That same year, the firm was also reportedly evaluating the potential purchase of a plant in the Netherlands. 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. This restructuring of the business coincided with the declining value for soda ash. ==See also==