History

Hornett Bros & Co Ltd was established in 1912 when Walter Hornett set up premises in Barking, Essex to reclaim fats and oils. Walter Hornett had five sons who all worked in the business. During the 1930's the first soluble oils were manufactured and sold within the UK. Following the death of Walter Hornett his sons continued to expand the business with export sales.

ln the late 1940's under the direction of Walter's sons Ernest and Frederick, the business expanded into manufacturing with the commissioning of a sulphurised oil production facility. At the time all additives were being imported from the USA. This led to major contracts with Shell and BP who were dominant forces in the field of industrial lubrication. By the late 1950's early 1960's the third generation Brian and Michael were well established in the business. The present site in Rainham was founded in 1965 and a new plant laboratory and offices were built.
By the mid to late 1970's Brian and Michael had taken over the running of the company and expanded the volumes of business by visiting established and potential customers with agents, especially in Europe.
The fourth generation John and Keelan Hornett are both Directors in the company and are actively looking to expand the business into new worldwide markets.
Finally, although a family owned business, a good measure of the success can be attributed to the hard working staff over all the generations.
Four generations of this history has shaped us into:

"Your Independent Lubricant Additive Manufacturer"