Our Heritage

Although Briar Chemicals is a relatively new name in the custom manufacturing sector we have more than 50 years’ expertise and an established reputation for manufacturing excellence and dependability.

In 1955 May & Baker acquired a green field site in Norwich to build a new facility for the manufacture of crop protection products. The following year, in 1956, production commenced with the product “Tropotox” (a herbicide used on broad leaf weeds). In 1963 the site commenced manufacture of Ioxynil and Bromoxynil, and between 1969 and 1983 the site expanded rapidly, with May & Baker winning five Queen’s awards for Industry, Export Achievement and Technological Innovation. In 1988, May & Baker was renamed Rhône-Poulenc Agriculture.

Aventis, a world leader in pharmaceuticals and agriculture, was created in December 1999 and the Norwich site became operational under its new identity of Aventis CropScience UK in January 2000. Aventis brought together the innovative strength and global research excellence of Rhône-Poulenc and Hoechst.

September 2002 saw Aventis CropScience rebranded as Bayer CropScience. The Norwich site continued to be Bayer’s largest manufacturing site in the UK, producing mainly herbicides as well as a veterinary product that is used for treatment of sheep and cattle.

On September 1st 2012, we became Briar Chemicals Ltd, an independent organisation, owned by Aurelius AG.