Clayton Aniline Company
| Industry | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Founder | Charles Dreyfus |
| Headquarters | Clayton, Manchester, England |
| Products | Dyestuffs |
The Clayton Aniline Company Ltd. was an English manufacturer of dyestuffs, founded in 1876 by Charles Dreyfus in Clayton, Manchester.
Charles Dreyfus was a French emigrant chemist and entrepreneur, who founded the Clayton Aniline Company on 29 May 1876. The company obtained a lease on a parcel of land in Clayton, Manchester, sandwiched between the Manchester and Ashton Canal and Chatham Street (later known as Clipstone Street). With an initial share capital of £40,000 the company began production of aniline and aniline salt.
In 1894, a brilliant young organic chemist Arthur George Green joined the company. Green had discovered the dye primuline in 1887 and under his guidance the company rapidly expanded its range of dyes. Green left the company in 1901.
In 1897, the company was placed into voluntary liquidation and then reformed under the same name with an issued share capital of £140,000. Max Baerlein was appointed as company chairman with Charles Dreyfus as managing director.
Chaim Weizmann joined the company in 1905 as a part-time research consultant, leaving in 1908 to pursue an academic career. Weizmann would later achieve fame through his work on bacterial fermentation and go on to become the first president of Israel.
On 1 May 1911, the Society of Chemical Industry in Basle (later known as CIBA), took control of the company and in 1913 Charles Dreyfus resigned.
The outbreak of war with Germany in 1914 led to lucrative contracts for the company including the production of 1,500 tons of TNT. The sites facilities were expanded considerably during the war including the construction of a new azo dyes plant (building 183) in 1918. TNT manufacture at the plant ceased following a series of accidents at other explosives factories such as those at Silvertown and Ashton-under-Lyne. Sylvain Dreyfus, a nephew of Charles Dreyfus, perished in the Ashton-under-Lyne disaster when the Hooley Hill Rubber and Chemical Works exploded. These and other accidents prompted the Government to concentrate explosives manufacture at factories sited well away from built up areas.
...
Wikipedia