• Founded in Liverpool on January 1, 1844 as Harrisons and Crosfield by Daniel Harrison and his brother, Smith Harrison and Joseph Crosfield to trade in tea and coffee.
• In 1854, they moved from Liverpool to Great Tower Street in London after rapid expansion, where it was based until 1989.
• In 1882, its annual sales of tea exceeded 100,000 crates for the first time
• In 1903 the firm diversified into a global trading and tropical plantations company with estates producing tea, coffee, timber, oil palm and rubber in the Far East – Malaysia, Sumatra and Ceylon
• In May 1908, the partnership is turned into a limited-liability company under the name Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd.
• In 1920, the company expands into timber through the purchase of the China Borneo Company.
• During the 1929 Depression the firm was forced to close several of its plantations.
• In 1941, the firm lost many of its Far Eastern plantations during the Japanese invasions in WWII
• In 1947, it established a joint venture with Durham Chemicals
• In 1973, it acquired British Chrome & Chemicals.
• In 1982, it sold its Malaysian plantation groups: Golden Hope, Pataling, and London Asiatic
• By 1986, H & C had moved away from tropical commodities such that they accounted for or less than 25% of their profits.
• In November 1988, H & C announced the reorganization of its chemical interests under the new name of the Harcros Chemical Group.
• In 1994, it sold its Indonesian plantations
• In 1996, it sold its remaining plantations
• In 1997, the firm decided to focus its full attention on specialty chemicals. Over the next year, the remaining non-chemical interests were liquidated: timber, food, agriculture, and pet food
• On 1 January 1998, H & C changed its name to Elementis
• Today the company continues to trade

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On the web:

• OFFICIAL SITE http://www.elementis.com/about/history.html
• Histrory http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Elementis-plc-Company-History.html
  
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementis
• plc. http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/chemical-manufacturing-paint/716859-1.html