Now then, this is one of those site that despite drooling over the pics of the vast industrial epicness that ive seen in reports from a few folk on here over the years, it was just one of them that never happened, despite me going on about it every time I was in the area, snooze you lose instances as by the time I had pulled my finger out and managed a rare free day to go, most of the site had gone and this was all I had to go at.
I'm pretty sure this is the discharge plant for the works, the product would have been loaded into railway wagons and ferried out of the site via its vast private railway system.
A bit of history on the company:
Brunner Mond & Company was formed in 1873 when John Brunner and Ludwig Mond built Winnington Works at Northwich, Cheshire and produced their first soda ash in 1874. The company grew steadily over the next 50 years including, in 1924, acquiring the Magadi Soda Company of Kenya. In 1926 Brunner Mond merged with three other British chemical companies to form Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), a venture that grew to become one of the world's largest and most successful companies.
In 1991 Brunner Mond was re-created as an independent Company by the acquisition of the UK and Kenyan soda ash businesses from ICI. In 1998 Brunner Mond acquired the soda ash activities of Akzo Nobel in The Netherlands where Brunner Mond B.V. now forms a wholly owned subsidiary company of the Group.
In 2006 Tata Chemicals Limited - part of the Tata Group of India - acquired the Brunner Mond Group. Along with Tata Chemicals' established operations in India and those acquired through the purchase of the soda ash assets of General Chemical Industrial Products Inc. in the USA, today the combined Brunner Mond/Magadi Soda/Tata Chemicals group is the second largest producer of soda ash in the world and the only one with manufacturing and supply chain capability on four continents.
The explore:
so after rocking up to this place early on a Sunday morning and finding that there was still security on site, I made my way oround the perimeter fence and onto a public footpath along side the building, after hot footing across an old railway bridge via a pipeline I was in!
I really enjoyed it here, the place was vast, and it really left me kicking myself as to what id missed out on.
On with the pics:
Oooh as if thats gonna stop me..
And that was that, thanks for looking..
I'm pretty sure this is the discharge plant for the works, the product would have been loaded into railway wagons and ferried out of the site via its vast private railway system.
A bit of history on the company:
Brunner Mond & Company was formed in 1873 when John Brunner and Ludwig Mond built Winnington Works at Northwich, Cheshire and produced their first soda ash in 1874. The company grew steadily over the next 50 years including, in 1924, acquiring the Magadi Soda Company of Kenya. In 1926 Brunner Mond merged with three other British chemical companies to form Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), a venture that grew to become one of the world's largest and most successful companies.
In 1991 Brunner Mond was re-created as an independent Company by the acquisition of the UK and Kenyan soda ash businesses from ICI. In 1998 Brunner Mond acquired the soda ash activities of Akzo Nobel in The Netherlands where Brunner Mond B.V. now forms a wholly owned subsidiary company of the Group.
In 2006 Tata Chemicals Limited - part of the Tata Group of India - acquired the Brunner Mond Group. Along with Tata Chemicals' established operations in India and those acquired through the purchase of the soda ash assets of General Chemical Industrial Products Inc. in the USA, today the combined Brunner Mond/Magadi Soda/Tata Chemicals group is the second largest producer of soda ash in the world and the only one with manufacturing and supply chain capability on four continents.
The explore:
so after rocking up to this place early on a Sunday morning and finding that there was still security on site, I made my way oround the perimeter fence and onto a public footpath along side the building, after hot footing across an old railway bridge via a pipeline I was in!
I really enjoyed it here, the place was vast, and it really left me kicking myself as to what id missed out on.
On with the pics:
Oooh as if thats gonna stop me..
And that was that, thanks for looking..
