Hickson & Welch
Corporate brand
UnclaimedHickson & Welch was a British chemicals manufacturer based in Castleford, known for dyes, pesticides, timber preservatives and organic chemicals.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Hickson & Welch was a British industrial chemicals company whose principal works stood beside the River Aire at Castleford in West Yorkshire. Its corporate history grew out of Ernest Hickson's late-nineteenth-century effort to introduce sulphur black, a sulphur dye, to Britain's cotton industry. A predecessor, Hickson & Partners Ltd, was established in 1915. After the Castleford works were destroyed in a major 1930 explosion, Hickson & Welch Ltd was formed in 1931 to rebuild and continue operations. The company developed a broad portfolio rather than remaining solely a dyestuffs producer. From 1944 it manufactured DDT and eventually became the United Kingdom's largest producer of the pesticide. Its activities also included other organic chemicals, furniture coatings and timber-preservation products. A timber-preservation subsidiary, Hickson's Timber Impregnation Co. (G.B.) Ltd, had been established in 1946. Products associated with the timber business included Triolith, Tanalith and Pyrolith; Pyrolith incorporated a flame-proofing agent. Hickson and Welch (Holdings) Ltd was incorporated in 1951 and became a public company later that year. During the 1950s and 1960s, Bernard Hickson served as chairman and managing director. The business later expanded through corporate transactions, including the sale of William Blythe in 1991 and the acquisition of Angus Fine Chemicals in 1992. In 1985 the group adopted the name Hickson International, reflecting a broader corporate identity and product base. The Castleford works were associated with three serious explosions: in 1926, before the later operating company was formed; in 1930, when a nitration-plant explosion destroyed the factory and killed 13 people; and in 1992, when an explosion involving residues in a distillation column killed five workers and injured approximately 200 people. The 1992 incident led to a criminal prosecution, a company fine and substantial costs. It also caused disruption in the surrounding community, including the closure of local schools during the emergency response. In August 2000, Hickson International plc was acquired by Arch Chemicals. At the time, the business employed more than 1,300 people and reported assets of £73 million and revenue of £208 million, according to the cited reference material. The Castleford operation was subsequently rebranded as C6 Solutions and closed in July 2005. The industrial site was progressively demolished; a gas-fired combined-heat-and-power station installed during the early 2000s was demolished in 2021. Hickson & Welch is therefore best understood as a defunct British chemicals company and industrial site rather than an active consumer-facing brand.
History
Hickson & Welch originated in the British textile-chemicals trade. Ernest Hickson established a business in 1893 to promote sulphur black, a sulphur dye used by the cotton industry. The enterprise was reorganized as Hickson & Partners Ltd in 1915. Its Castleford operations became the scene of a fatal explosion in November 1926, when material being packed as a supposedly non-explosive dye intermediate detonated and killed two men. A second and much larger disaster occurred on 4 July 1930. An explosion at the site's nitration plant destroyed the factory, killed 13 people and injured 32. The force of the event damaged the surrounding town and rendered approximately 300 houses uninhabitable. Ernest Hickson died later that month from natural causes, and the earlier company was liquidated. Hickson & Welch Ltd was established in 1931 from the destroyed site's successor operations. The rebuilt business expanded beyond dyestuffs. From 1944 it manufactured DDT, becoming the United Kingdom's largest producer of the pesticide at one point in the twentieth century. Hickson's Timber Impregnation Co. (G.B.) Ltd, founded in 1946, supported a timber-preservation division whose products included Triolith, Tanalith and Pyrolith. The wider business also made furniture coatings and organic chemicals. Hickson and Welch (Holdings) Ltd was incorporated on 28 September 1951 and became a public company on 30 November of that year. Bernard Hickson was chairman and managing director during much of the 1950s and remained in those roles until 1968. The group changed its name to Hickson International in 1985. It later undertook portfolio changes, selling William Blythe of Lancashire to Holliday of Huddersfield for £23 million in August 1991 and acquiring Angus Fine Chemicals for £22.3 million in July 1992. These transactions formed part of the company's effort to manage and broaden its specialty-chemicals activities. The Castleford site suffered another major explosion on 21 September 1992. A residue-containing distillation-column base ignited, producing a large jet fire that passed through the control room and into an office block. Five employees ultimately died and around 200 people were injured. Firefighters, medical services and chemical-poisoning specialists treated numerous workers and emergency personnel. A later investigation examined the incident and reports of nausea and vomiting among affected people; some symptoms were attributed to polluted water and norovirus rather than chemical poisoning. The company was prosecuted in 1993 and received a £250,000 fine plus £150,000 in costs. Families of victims sought manslaughter charges, but prosecutors concluded that the evidence did not support them. In August 2000 Arch Chemicals acquired Hickson International plc. The company was then reported to employ more than 1,300 people, with assets of £73 million and revenue of £208 million. The Castleford business was renamed C6 Solutions and closed in July 2005. A 44 MW gas-turbine combined-heat-and-power station, supplemented by a 13 MW steam turbine and producing roughly 56 MW in total, had begun operating at the site in October 2002. The plant was later demolished in 2021. Hickson & Welch consequently ceased to exist as an operating chemicals business, leaving a legacy tied to British industrial chemistry, timber treatment, pesticide production and the hazardous history of its Castleford works.
- 2021
Former site's power station is demolished
[1]The gas-fired power station associated with the former works was demolished.
- 2005
Castleford site closes
[1]The operation, renamed C6 Solutions after the acquisition, closed in July.
- 2000
Acquisition by Arch Chemicals
[1]Arch Chemicals purchased Hickson International plc.
- 1992
Third major Castleford explosion
[1]An explosion and fire at the works killed five workers and injured approximately 200 people.
- 1985
Corporate name changes to Hickson International
[1]The group adopted the Hickson International name.
- 1951
Holding company incorporated and floated
[1]Hickson and Welch (Holdings) Ltd was incorporated in September and became a public company in November.
- 1946
Timber-impregnation subsidiary is founded
[1]Hickson's Timber Impregnation Co. (G.B.) Ltd was established, supporting the wood-preservation business.
- 1944
DDT production begins
[1]The company began manufacturing DDT and later became the UK's largest producer of the pesticide.
- 1931
Hickson & Welch Ltd is established
[1]A new company was formed from the site and operations rebuilt after the 1930 disaster.
- 1930
Nitration-plant explosion destroys the factory
[1]The Castleford nitration plant exploded, killing 13 people, injuring 32 and damaging hundreds of homes.
Products and positioning
An industrial chemicals manufacturer serving textile, pesticide, wood-preservation, coatings and related chemical markets.
Pesticide · 1944
DDT
Hickson & Welch began manufacturing DDT in 1944 and became the United Kingdom's largest producer of the pesticide at one point. It formed one of the company's most historically significant chemical lines, alongside dyes and timber-treatment products.
Timber preservative
Triolith
Triolith was one of the timber-preservation products associated with Hickson's wood-treatment business. The product formed part of the company's industrial offering for protecting timber against deterioration.
Timber preservative
Tanalith
Tanalith was marketed as a timber preservative by the company's timber-impregnation subsidiary. It belonged to the wood-protection portfolio developed alongside the group's broader chemicals operations.
Timber preservative and flame-proofing chemical
Pyrolith
Pyrolith was a timber-treatment product containing a flame-proofing agent. It represented the company's effort to combine preservation and fire-resistance functions in an industrial wood-protection formulation.
Dyestuff · 1893
Sulphur black
Sulphur black was the dye associated with Ernest Hickson's original business. It was introduced for use by the British cotton industry and provided the company's earliest connection with textile manufacturing.
Controversies
1992
Castleford distillation-column explosion
Residues of nitrotoluene ignited in a distillation column, causing a major fire. Five workers died and around 200 people were injured. The company was later fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £150,000 in costs.
1930
Castleford nitration-plant disaster
A nitration-plant explosion destroyed the factory, killed 13 people and injured 32. The blast also made approximately 300 homes in Castleford uninhabitable.
1926
Fatal packing-area explosion
An explosion occurred while workers were packing a dye intermediate believed to be non-explosive. Two men were killed.
Brand decisions
2005
Closure of the Castleford operationStrategyBackground
Following Arch Chemicals' acquisition, the former Hickson International operation had been renamed C6 Solutions.
Action taken
The Castleford chemicals site was closed in July 2005.
Aftermath
Hickson & Welch ceased to operate as an active chemicals business, and the former industrial site entered a later demolition and redevelopment phase.
2000
Acquisition by Arch ChemicalsM&ABackground
Hickson International was an established industrial chemicals group with a large workforce and a broad product portfolio.
Action taken
Arch Chemicals acquired Hickson International plc in August 2000.
Aftermath
The business was subsequently rebranded as C6 Solutions, and the Castleford site closed in July 2005.
Reported revenue at acquisition. £208 million (At the time of the August 2000 acquisition)
1992
Acquisition of Angus Fine ChemicalsM&ABackground
The group continued to adjust its specialty-chemicals portfolio after the sale of William Blythe.
Action taken
Hickson International bought Angus Fine Chemicals for £22.3 million in July 1992.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded the group during the same year as the fatal Castleford explosion.
Acquisition price. £22.3 million (July 1992)
1991
Sale of William BlytheM&ABackground
Hickson International reviewed its portfolio of chemical businesses during a period of corporate restructuring.
Action taken
It sold William Blythe of Lancashire to Holliday of Huddersfield for £23 million in August 1991.
Aftermath
The transaction reduced Hickson International's direct ownership of William Blythe and preceded a later acquisition-led reshaping of the group.
Sale price. £23 million (August 1991)
Sources1 sources
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