Founded in 1926 Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. is one of the UK's leading performance and speciality chemical manufacturers. The company is independently owned by the current chairman, Tom Swan, who is also the grandson of the founder. The company is divided into 4 key product areas: Advanced Materials, Contract manufacturing, Colours and Performance Chemicals (which includes biocides, personal care and rubber chemicals). Thomas Swan has a history of working closely with universities to develop unique and forward thinking opportunities which ultimately led to the company being identified as "one of the World's Top 20 Innovators" in 2001.
In April 2004, following over 4 years of collaboration with the University of Cambridge, Thomas Swan launched a carbon nanomaterials business dedicated to the production of high-purity single and multi-wall carbon nanotubes. The company is currently capable of manufacturing over 6 kg of purified single-wall carbon nanotubes per month using a specialised CVD reactor. In addition, Thomas Swan is now able to offer a purified aqueous dispersion of single wall nanotubes. Thomas Swan is now looking to develop the industrial applications market through strategic collaborations with key companies in Japan, Asia and the Far East.
