Hardman & Holden Ltd was established in Clayton, Manchester, in 1892 for the manufacture of Brown Oil of Vitriol (sulphuric acid) by the lead-chamber process. Tar distillation was also carried out on the Clayton site until the 1920s. In 1934, the company expanded through the acquisition of other businesses, including C. J. Schofield and Manchester Oxide Co, and began manufacturing paint driers, stearates and Manchester gum, which was used by cardboard box and adhesive label manufacturers. Other products included pitch for use on roads, sulphuric acid for steel pickling and car batteries, glue and size for bill posting, and linoleates for use in paint driers and in the manufacture of linoleum for waterproof sheet and sailcloth. During the Second World War, the site contributed to the war effort by supplying copper naphthenate for preserving ammunition boxes and sand bags. Lithium stearate, a stabilising agent for maintaining constant viscosity of lubricants over a range of temperatures, was used in the Flying Fortress bombers. The supply of products for the war effort also included 'Molotov Cocktails' (a mixture of tar and petrol in a bottle), for use by the Home Guard. The company became a public limited company in 1947. By 1955 the company was making advances in the production of synthetic acid-based driers, and work on aluminium alkoxide derivatives began in 1957. Hardman & Holden Ltd was taken over by Borax Holdings in 1960, which in turn merged with RTZ in 1968. The company continued trading under the Hardman & Holding name until 1972, when a joint venture was formed with Barlocher & Manox Ltd. RTZ Chemicals established a sister company, Manchem Ltd, on the same site in 1974. Hardman & Holding became known as Manox in the 1980s and then Manchem (Northern) Ltd in 1988, when RTZ Chemicals was restructured into divisions. In 1989, RTZ Chemicals was acquired by Rhone Poulenc. In 1998 Manchem split from Rhone Poulenc and became part of Rhodia Industrial Specialties Ltd. The business was acquired by OMG Inc in 2001, becoming known as OMG UK Ltd. The site was closed in 2010, bringing an end to production in Clayton.