In 1870 Joseph Foster founded H Foster Ltd. The original products were manufactured from tallow and wool grease and used in the manufacture of leather and textiles. Gradually, the range of products was increased to include all kinds of lubricants as well as leather and textile oils.

After concentrating on wool grease as its base of raw materials since the early part of the century and with the decline in wool scouring in the West Riding of Yorkshire, there was a return to tallow as a raw material in the 1960’s. In the 1970’s H Foster added to its portfolio the manufacture and marketing of esters made from fatty acids. The range now includes many fatty esters such as oleates, stearates and petrochemicals.

Today’s customers range from the large international companies to the smaller size business and cover the following industries: lubricants, textile (both natural and man made) metal finishing, rubber, plastics, soap-making, cosmetics, candle making, printing inks, and many more.

H Foster became a wholly owned subsidiary company of Eggar Holdings*

in August 2006. The current Managing Director, Simon Eggar, is committed to operating the company in line with the established ethos of customer care which made H Foster such a successful business throughout the times. “At the age of autonomous multinational conglomerates, overseas competition and centralisation, it is heartening to find that there is still a place in the industry for the family business that believes in service. This is a new phase for H Foster. The new H Foster team is headed up by skilled and dedicated people working together in understanding and in supporting customers’ needs. Our technical and non-technical teams’ efforts are focused in analysing and anticipating market trends, assuring that product availability and quality is never compromised. H Foster’s reputation within the industry as a reliable and prompt distributor has been unequalled for many years. We are all looking forward to be of service to you”

H Foster is an ISO 9001 accredited company.

* Eggar Holdings Ltd is a family owned business, established in 1972.