Haden Drysys
Encyclopedia
Haden Drysys
Haden Drysys International played a major part in the development of the paint finishing industry. It was one of the world’s leading high quality paint finishing systems suppliers. Originally based in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
the Company moved to then based in Auburn Hills in the United States in the 1990s. As a tier one supplier, it completed projects in over 60 countries. In 2000, the Company reported sales of $300,000,000. It posted its largest ever sales of $573,516,911 in 1995, including a $220,000,000 complete paintshop at Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This huge job had great significance to the automotive sector in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and this plant still produces the third most vehicles of all plants in the British motor industry
British motor industry
The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is now best known for premium and sports car marques including Aston Martin, Bentley, Daimler, Jaguar, Lagonda, Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren, MG, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-Royce. Volume car manufacturers with a major presence in the UK include Ford, Honda,...
.
Early days
Haden has a long, colourful history. It began trading in 1816 in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It provided paint finishing equipment across the United States. It was one of the first Western businesses to move into China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
after the closed door policy ended, completing its first project in 1980 and then several more projects beginning in 1983, covering Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, Shiyan
Shiyan
Shiyan is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China.-Geography:The Wudang Mountains run approximately east-west through the territory of the "Prefecture-level city" of Shiyan, crossing several of its county-level divisions...
and Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
. It later did work in more prosperous areas such as Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
and Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
. It played a huge part in the technology transfer from Western Automotive suppliers to Chinese domestic firms. In the 1980s it was also an early mover into Indian and Australasian markets.
Pioneering research and development
Haden developed paint finishing systems, metal finishing systems, industrial process equipment and environmental systems. It covered many industries including automotive, aerospace, general industrial and chemical manufacturing.Its products were developed through a bespoke research and development programme with high attention to reliability and maintainability. It has numerous patents for new developments such as spray booths, special apparatus and method for applying material to articles, separation systems and sludge removal systems and made numerous technical industry firsts. It pioneered development of the highly energy efficient power-based paint systems now common worldwide. Other innovations followed with the use of high solids paints and waterborne paints.
Acquisition
Haden International Group including Haden Drysys International was acquired by Palladium Equity Partners on August 16, 2001. Haden International Group had previously been a subsidiary of Haden MacLellan Holdings plc. Based in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Haden MacLellan Holdings plc had over 185 years of heritage in design, engineering and manufacture. They chose to sell off this part of their business to concentrate on their core fastener
Fastener
A fastener is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together.Fasteners can also be used to close a container such as a bag, a box, or an envelope; or they may involve keeping together the sides of an opening of flexible material, attaching a lid to a container,...
business.
Demise
Haden Drysys International was liquidated in 2005 and Haden International Group was liquidated the following year in 2006 marking the end of a pioneering legacy in the Surface finishingSurface finishing
Surface finishing is a broad range of industrial processes that alter the surface of a manufactured item to achieve a certain property. Finishing processes may be employed to: improve appearance, adhesion or wettability, solderability, corrosion resistance, tarnish resistance, chemical resistance,...
industry.