
Henry Foster and his son Joseph began the H Foster business, specialising in the manufacture of products from tallow and wool grease to supply the leather and textiles industries.
When Henry Foster founded the company in 1875, he supplied products manufactured from tallow and wool grease to be used in the leather and textiles industries. Today, our customers range from major international companies to small-scale businesses. We supply to industries including lubricants, textile (both natural and man-made), metal finishing, rubber, plastics, soap making, cosmetics, candle making, printing inks, and more.
Henry Foster and his son Joseph began the H Foster business, specialising in the manufacture of products from tallow and wool grease to supply the leather and textiles industries.
The business moved to 103, Kirkstall Road in Leeds, with the third generation of the family, Joseph Foster, at the head.
Haulage company (the first in the area to run tankers) was formed to deliver products in bulk.
The fourth generation of Fosters were leading the company, with Henry, Chris and Richard Foster managing the business. They returned to tallow as a raw material as the wool business was declining in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Chris and Richard Foster entered into talks with Geoffrey and Simon Eggar about a buy-out of the business.
H Foster became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eggar Holdings, with Geoffrey Eggar as Chairman and Simon Eggar as Managing Director.
We launched our e-commerce business hfostersoaponline.co.uk
Eggar Holdings is renamed H Foster 1875 Ltd. From 1st September 2016, the majority of the H Foster & Co Ltd. business has been transferred to H Foster 1875.
We moved our head office to new premises in Goring-on-Thames.
We achieved ISO 9001:2015 accreditation
Our new websites launched – Hfostersoaponline.co.uk now rebranded as 1875.co.uk
1875.co.uk moves into a dedicated unit on site at 103 Kirkstall Road.
We achieved ISO 1400:2015 accreditation
Helping both small and large businesses to access quality products for over 140 years, we've always prioritised the highest standards of service.
Supplying customers throughout the UK, we have a portfolio of high-quality fatty acids such as stearic acid, oleic acid and glycerine, and derived esters products.
Staying up to date and in the know means that we can stock the most innovative and effective products – read the latest news from our industry.