Castner Kellner Alkali Co
Castner Kellner Alkali Co, chemical manufacturers, of Weston Point, Runcorn and Carville, Wallsend-on-Tyne
1895 Formed as a public company to work, in Great Britain and the British Colonies (except Canada), the patents of Mr Hamilton Y. Castner and Dr Carl Kellner for the manufacture of caustic alkali and bleaching powder. Arrangements had been made with the Aluminium Co of London Ltd, the owners of the Castner patents, and Messrs Solvay et Cie, sole owners by purchase (except for Austria) of the Kellner patents[1]. Directors included F Burton (William Burton and Sons, chemical manufacturers), H Y Castner (Aluminium Co), F Hardcastle (Thomas Hardcastle and Sons), C Kellner (Kellner Partington Pulp Co), W Mather (Mather and Platt), Sir Henry Roscoe (Aluminium Co)[2].
1900 Castner Kellner Co agreed to purchase the Aluminium Co[3].
1901 At the flotation of the Power-Gas Corporation, George Beilby (who was a director) was listed as director of Castner Kellner Co[4].
1907 Operated the electrolytic alkali process at Runcorn; new works opened at Wallsend-on-Tyne[5].
WW1: manufactured a range of chemicals for wartime industry
1916 Alkali maker Castner Kellner Co of Wallsend-on-Tyne had allied itself with Brunner, Mond and Co[6].
1917 Alexander Fleck (1889-1968), later Lord Fleck, joined Castner Kellner Co as chief chemist. His interest was in the manufacture of sodium, required for sodium cyanide for gold extraction in the manufacture of light alloys[7].
1920 Brunner, Mond and Co took over Castner Kellner Co by exchange of shares[8].
1929 ICI decided to close the Wallsend works and amalgamate it with the Allhusen Works at Gateshead and the Cassel Cyanide Co of Glasgow; the 3 works were concentrated at Billingham South, called Cassel Works which became one of the principal factories of ICI's General Chemicals Division[9].
1960s the Runcorn site was still in use and known as Caster-Kellner works.