Paint makers in the Bradford area

Must be someone on here who can remember the name of the paint manufacturer who used to have a factory close to the canal at Crossflats on the Keighley side of Bradford. I was trying to describe its location to a friend recently. In the '70 and early ‘80s I used to drive for a company who delivered Nacanco paint cans (metal in those days) to a few paint companies around Bradford, one I can recall as Silver Paints, owned by the then owner of Leeds United football club. We used to contract out of Nacanco at Barking and used to compete with the drivers out of Norwich for all the empty pallets, frames and dividers. Checking Crossflats on Google Earth the paint plant has gone the same was as many of the other factories I used to deliver to, covered with bricks and mortar! One fact sticks in my mind about Crossflats, used to pass the house where Sutcliff lived. I checked Google Earth the other day for another horrendous factory where we used to have standing trailers, Bowater Drums at Disley, just the wrong side of a very low rail bridge off the A6, could see the plant from the main road but the only access was via a narrow road somewhere around the New Mills area. I hated going there especially with a 40’ trailer that had one single axle as far back as it was possible for it to be. Fortunately they were outlawed years ago.
That’s now a housing estate, too.

Hi there, not 100% sure it could have been Windeck Paints
Cheers Andy

Bowaters Drums at Disley, I was sent there many years ago after going out to attend a breakdown on one of our Marathon’s, After getting the vehicle sorted the driver was told to bring back the van and for me to do the the collection at Bowaters, I could not get under the bridge which could have been just off the A6, I found my way round the back & the time was about 11pm, in the small village there was two youngsters at a bus stop, I asked for directions on how to get into the factory, they said at the T junction turn left then first right, something felt wrong and I said do you mean left, No they said as the road to the right bears off to the left and then over a bridge, off I went and this road was getting steeper and narrower and at this point I knew something was wrong but I was now committed, the lorry just about fitted between the hedges and then to my surprise I ended up at Disley Golf Club, I was lucky to get turned round and felt really guilty about the damage I had done to the grass outside the what I assume was the club house, coming down the hill was the worst experience that I have ever had of being out of control of a lorry, but lucky for me the banks kept it in a straight line, I ended up back in the village but very lucky for them they had gone.

Dave…

Willing to be proven wrong but I believe the paint factory at crossflatts burned down, the beardedone

Andy (Fodens 20) is correct.
It was Windeck paints and was part of Manders Paints from Wolverhampton, all got bought out by Kalon in the 1990’s or there about. Asked one of my drivers who is a Keighley lad and he also mentioned Premier paints? Cheer’s Pete

Leslie Silver owned Leeds United. He started Silver Paint and Lacquers. It was Bestobell too until it changed to Kalon and Leyland Paints

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wheel Nut:
Leslie Silver owned Leeds United. He started Silver Paint and Lacquers. It was Bestobell too until it changed to Kalon and Leyland Paints

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Didn’t Dennis Thatcher have shares in Kalons owners , i cant think of the name

Fairly certain in was called Airedale Varnish. I recollect a large fire maybe in the late 70’s early 80’s. Some of the buildings were flatten but its still there used as small business units. It’s located at the junction of Bradford Road (the old A650) & Swine Lane.

ramone:

Wheel Nut:
Leslie Silver owned Leeds United. He started Silver Paint and Lacquers. It was Bestobell too until it changed to Kalon and Leyland Paints

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Didn’t Dennis Thatcher have shares in Kalons owners , i cant think of the name

I remember something like that, but my mind was stuck on Harold Wilson and Gannex

Wheel Nut:

ramone:

Wheel Nut:
Leslie Silver owned Leeds United. He started Silver Paint and Lacquers. It was Bestobell too until it changed to Kalon and Leyland Paints

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Didn’t Dennis Thatcher have shares in Kalons owners , i cant think of the name

I remember something like that, but my mind was stuck on Harold Wilson and Gannex

Denis Thatcher owned a paint and varnish company called Atlas Preservatives. It was sold to Castrol and Burmah.

At one time Denis became chairman of the council of the National Paint Federation.

Only just got back on here but thank you to all those who remembered the name off the Crossflats company being called Windeck Paints.
Also glad that Bowater Drums at Disley left a bad memory for at least one other driver. That was the factory where the approach road (road? no, just a tarmac track) had a very sharp right hand bend on a bridge where, with a 40’ single axle trailer, you had to nose the unit into to nearside hedge while striking the low offside wall with the offside trailer wheels to ‘shunt’ the trailer round. The advice I was given by another driver on my first visit there was ‘hit the wall with the wheels just fast enough to get you round; too slow it’s drag you to a stop, too fast and you could turn the trailer over’. Found out later that was why the 40’ single axle trailers always crabbed behind the unit! Another similar place was the old PYE TV factory at Clacton where, on a very tight right hand corner, we used to have to get a fork lift truck to lift the back of the trailer round. Good job we were only carrying polystyrene packaging! Happy days!

formertrucker:
Only just got back on here but thank you to all those who remembered the name off the Crossflats company being called Windeck Paints.
Also glad that Bowater Drums at Disley left a bad memory for at least one other driver. That was the factory where the approach road (road? no, just a tarmac track) had a very sharp right hand bend on a bridge where, with a 40’ single axle trailer, you had to nose the unit into to nearside hedge while striking the low offside wall with the offside trailer wheels to ‘shunt’ the trailer round. The advice I was given by another driver on my first visit there was ‘hit the wall with the wheels just fast enough to get you round; too slow it’s drag you to a stop, too fast and you could turn the trailer over’. Found out later that was why the 40’ single axle trailers always crabbed behind the unit! Another similar place was the old PYE TV factory at Clacton where, on a very tight right hand corner, we used to have to get a fork lift truck to lift the back of the trailer round. Good job we were only carrying polystyrene packaging! Happy days!

I did many loads out of Harcostar which was the plastic drum side of Bowaters at Disley ,it was tight round that hairpin with a forty footer and just got under the railway bridge at 14ft 3 ins . The hairpin was later widened to accommodate trombone trailers of steel beams for the paper factory next door . Ironically when the factory was complete they built a nice new entrance off the main road .