On the management of innovation in sugar technology: A personal tribute to Tate & Lyle's ventures into R&D

With the disposal of its last refining companies, Tate & Lyle ended 150 years of sugar tradition: this article records some of the stages in the establishment of Tate & Lyle's professional research and development facilities which took the Company to the acme of achievement and respect. It does not attempt to document what was done, but rather how it was done, and focuses attention primarily on innovation in sugar processing technology. From the pre-war days when there was little communication between operating units, one or two Directors of the Company were able to persuade their colleagues that technological innovation was vital to corporate health. Over the next 50 years, bold management decisions were taken that were to prove way ahead of their time. At many stages of the venture, the Company found itself in, what for it, were unfamiliar business activities, each of which required innovative management decisions. Successful innovation in sugar processing technology probably led to over optimistic expectations for R&D in fields outside the then core business activities, and yet some of those research projects might be viewed as a portent of what has actually happened - the change from a bulk low margin product (refined sugar) to lower volume, higher margin food additives and ingredients. This article is a tribute to Tate & Lyle's contributions and is illustrated by some personal experiences of the author, who between 1959 & 1989, was involved in some of the innovative ventures.