Our History

Robinson Brothers was established by William Leckie Robinson, James Henry Robinson and Charles R Robinson for the distillation of coal tar.

Robinson Brothers was licenced to manufacture a new road coating composition (Tarvia) for the automotive industry.

Robinson Brothers established a rubber technical service laboratory to develop polymer chemicals and rubber additives to meet the increasing use of vulcanisation accelerators in the market. This is now known as the Polymer Additive Laboratory; part of the Robac Technology division.

Robinson Brothers set-up their UK manufacturing site to handle Carbon disulfide technology.

Robinson Brothers introduced high-pressure hydrogenation to manufacture Piperidine for Penicillin G. Piperidine (CAS No: 110-89-4) is still a leading product for Robinson Brothers, which is used as a chemical intermediate for a wide range of applications, including: agrochemicals, coatings and pharmaceuticals.

Robinson Brothers began on-site generation of Hydrogen sulphide.

Robinson Brothers began manufacturing Cysteamine – a key ingredient in the synthesis of the revolutionary anti-ulcer drug Tagamet.

Robinson Brothers designed their first multi-product Plant that contained glass-lined reactions and enclosed filter drier units.

Robinson Brothers began Friedel Crafts reactions using Aluminium chloride.

Robinson Brothers installed a Phosgenation Plant for the custom manufacture of a veterinary active.

Robinson Brothers produced a chemical intermediate by chiral synthesis, for the first time.

Robinson Brothers began bulk handling of elemental Bromine.

Robinson Brothers created novel Thiolation chemistry, which has since become part of our core competences.

Robinson Brothers began commercial scale Chlorosulfonation reactions using a dedicated reactor.

Robinson Brothers invested in a new £2M state-of-the-art Incineration Plant, waste-to-energy plant.

Robinson Brothers created a Kilo-Laboratory, allowing small-scale manufacturing to support new product synthesis.

Robinson Brothers installed a wiped film evaporator in Pilot Plant.

Robinson Brothers Group purchased Endeavour Speciality Chemicals Ltd, based in Daventry UK, with core expertise in sulfur and heterocyclic chemistries.

Robinson Brothers began working on the SafeRubber project to identify a safer alternative to Ethylene thiourea. This project was led by our Robac Technology, rubber additives division, who engaged in this European consortium.

Robinson Brothers win the prestigious Chemical Industry Association GSK Innovation Award for their role in the SafeRubber project.

Robinson Brothers win the Chemical Industries Association Responsible Care Special Award for Process Safety Leadership.

Robinson Brothers won the Chemical Industries Association Company of Year Award, and Chemical Industries Association Innovation Award for the launch of Robac SRM102

EU-funded SafeRubber project came to an end, from which, Robac SRM102 was launched as a safe alternative to Ethylene thiourea.

Robinson Brothers invest in a bespoke artic lorry to meet the gas odorant market demand, with the rise in biogas sites across the UK.

Robinson Brothers invested in a bulk tank farm to support the growth in demand and supply of Piperidine (CAS No: 110-89-4) - a long standing chemical in our product portfolio.

Robinson Brothers successfully achieved ISO 9001:2015 accreditation. The company made a smooth transition from ISO 9001:2008 a year ahead of the deadline set as September 2018. Robinson Brothers will remain committed to providing a service of the highest quality to customers.

Implemented SAGE enterprise management software for processes across finance, purchasing, stock inventory, manufacturing and customer relationship management.

Celebrating 150 years of business