Dr David Waldie
Dr David Waldie was a Scottish chemist who came to India in the 1850s and founded his own chemical works in Calcutta in 1858. The works later moved to Konnagar, where Waldies has manufactured ever since, through India's independence and beyond.
Waldie also has a place in medical history. It was he who suggested chloroform to the Edinburgh obstetrician James Young Simpson, who demonstrated its use as an anaesthetic in 1847. Waldie received little recognition for his part before he left for India to build his own enterprise.
- Born
- 27 February 1813, Linlithgow, Scotland
- Studied
- Medicine, Edinburgh (qualified 1831)
- Came to India
- 1853, as chemist to Malcolm & Co., Calcutta
- Founded
- D. Waldie & Co., Calcutta, 1858
- Died
- 23 June 1889, Calcutta
Clive Street. Marine Lines. Connaught Place. Mount Road.
Our historic offices, and our footprint today →
Timeline
- 1813
Birth of a pioneer
David Waldie is born in Linlithgow, Scotland, on 27 February 1813. He studies medicine in Edinburgh, qualifying in 1831.
- 1847
A part in medical history
Waldie suggests chloroform to Edinburgh obstetrician James Young Simpson, who goes on to demonstrate it as an anaesthetic.
- 1853
Voyage to India
Dr Waldie moves to Calcutta as chemist to Malcolm & Co.
- 1858
D. Waldie & Co. is founded
Waldie establishes his own chemical works at Barnagore, Calcutta. The year is still on every Waldies bag.
- 1874
A new site
The works move to Kasipur (Cossipore), and later to Konnagar on the Hooghly, where Waldies manufactures to this day.
- 1889
The founder's legacy
Dr David Waldie dies in Calcutta on 23 June 1889. The company carries his name forward.
- 1930s
Growing with lead
With technical assistance from one of the largest lead and lead-compound manufacturers in the UK, four Waldies companies are formed.
- 1967
One company
On 1 November 1967 the four companies amalgamate as D. Waldie & Co. (Lead Oxides) Ltd, renamed Waldies Limited the following year.
- 2006
Part of Gillanders
Waldies is amalgamated with Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. Ltd, with effect from 1 April 2005.
- 2007
Waldies Compound Limited
Waldies Compound Limited takes over the business of the Waldies division as an independent company.
- 2023
The lead-free era
At PlastIndia 2023 Waldies launches Virichem® calcium-zinc stabilizers and announces its Dausa works in Rajasthan.
- Today
Six works, three states
Three works in operation at Konnagar and Dausa, and three more under development in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
168 years of chemistry, and counting
See what we make today.