John Wright and Co had a sugar refinery in Liverpool
from about 1809. In 1859, Henry Tate, a successful grocer in Liverpool
joined them as a partner. Henry Tate realised that a more efficient production
on a much larger scale was needed if British sugar refining was to survive
European competition. He set up his own refinery in 1862 and expanded this
business by moving to Love Lane
in 1872. Future expansion was achieved by buying out major competitors, partly
to eliminate competition and partly to acquire their sites for extensions. In
1921 Tate’s amalgamated with Lyle’s of Greenock.
Production at the Love Lane
factory reached a peak of 550,000 tons in 1972 and eventually 300,000 tons per
year.
The Tate and
Lyle Sugar Refinery photograph taken from the Recovery Pan Floor,the building
to the right is the boiler house and the one to the left is the raw sugar
silos.
(Information
courtesy of Michael Greenall)
In 1921Tate’s amalgamated with Lyle’s of Greenock and the need to transport the company's raw
materials and finished products, resulted in Tate and Lyle investing in their
own in house transport fleet. From those early days Tateand Lyle adopted a
navy blue and gold livery which the company still use today. Production at the Love Lane factory
in Liverpool reached a peak of 550,000 tons in
1972 and stood at 300,000 tons per year when the factory closed.
Ariel view of the Tate and Lyle site
Despite strong
efforts to keep the Tate and Lyle factory in Liverpool
open, it closed down in 1981. It was claimed that the reason for closure was a
surplus capacity in cane sugar refining caused by the Common Agricultural Policy
of the European Community. In July 2010 Tate and Lyle announced a deal to
sell its sugar business to American Sugar Refining for £211m in cash. The name
will continue to be associated with sugar as the American firm will use the
Tate and Lyle brand on the sugar products it sells. At the time of the
acquisition American Sugar Refining's co-president Luis Fernandez said:
"Tate and Lyle is steeped in 130 years of tradition and consumer
loyalty.
Tate and Lyle Lorries, Liverpool 1981 By Dave Forrest
In December 2010 the last of Tate and Lyle’s
operations in Merseyside disappeared as the sale of its molasses business to W
and R Barnett was completed, ending its 150-year association with Liverpool
Today Tate and Lyle once famous in the UK for its sugar products, including
its Golden Syrup is now set to concentrate on its industrial food ingredients
division, which produces items used in processed foods such as soups and
sauces. Pin It
