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Our History


Chem Resist was created by Arthur Armitage, a Textile Chemist and ex. RAF Officer, who brought together two of his existing businesses, Advanced Textile Engineering Limited and Advanced Chemical Equipment (ACE Ltd. founded 1964). Advanced Textile Engineering’s growth potential was limited as it was heavily reliant on one industry, whilst ACE Ltd had a much wider market with a stockholding operation for Polypropylene Tubes and Fittings and an agency for Centrifugal Chemical Pumps.
ACE Fabrication Department Tank
ACE Fabrication Department Tank

In 1972, a small fabrication facility was created with Arthur being hands on and carrying out the work himself. This operation grew and in 1976 moved to a 5000ft2 premises at Butt End Mills, Lower Hopton in Mirfield. During 1977, Arthur’s son-in-law, Seamus Quinn joined the company from Arthur Andersen Consultants in London, and went on to manage Chem Resist Plastic Fabrications Ltd. (registered 1979)

Chem Resist Fluids Transfer division was created in 1986, supplying a wide range of premium-branded corrosion resistant pumps. This further enhanced the product portfolio and allowed ‘turnkey’ projects to be offered to the expanding customer base. June 1989 saw the sale of Butt End Mills and a move to our current home in Ravensthorpe Industrial Estate, Dewsbury, which includes office space, stores and a fabrication unit.

The period of 1990 – 93 was one of the most significant in the company’s history. During this time, within input from Cambridge University, the fabrication process for thermoplastic cylinders was developed and refined, resulting in a patented Spiral Winding System. Major site investment saw a new 7,000ft2 building with custom built extruder and former handling equipment to create a dedicated production facility for Spiral Wound Cylinders. This activity remains core to the Process Plant division.

Seamus Quinn extrusion welding a polyprop elbow 1977
Seamus Quinn extrusion welding a polyprop elbow 1977

Having joined the company in 1989, 2003 saw Simon Hewitt take the reins as Managing Director, with Seamus assuming the still-held role of Chairman. Neil Williams joined Chem Resist in 2007, to head up the Fluid Transfer division, bringing increased focus to customer service and further expansion of the product portfolio which today includes; Almatec, Munsch, World Chemical, Neptune, Pan World and Plast-O-Matic brands.

In 2008, Simon, along with his wife Odelle purchased Chem Resist from Seamus and a new division, Pipework Systems was established to better service the high priority/short time frame pipework demands from the customer base.

Gary Smith joined Chem Resist in 2015 to lead the Process Plant division, bringing with him a strong scientific background to solve the continued challenges in transferring, mixing and storing corrosive and aggressive chemicals.

To date our experience has been gained in a broad spectrum of sectors; chemical manufacture & distribution, fuel & energy, food & beverage, transport & distribution, pharmaceutical & agriculture and the water & utility industries. We’ve successfully nurtured strong and long-standing relationships with our customers including industry leading names; Agfa, Brenntag, Holchem, Unilever and Outokumpu.

Our continued success is based on a number of factors; the quality of our products and services, backed by continued investment and process improvement. But what really makes us ready to face the future, is the technical expertise and experience of our people working together in a supportive, open and collaborative culture.

Tank installation at Arrow Chemicals and Old Man Garforth manufacturing one of the tanks for Arrow Chemicals
Left: Tank installation at Arrow Chemicals
Right: Old Man Garforth manufacturing one of the tanks for Arrow Chemicals

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