About William Hayes

William Hayes (Paper Merchants) was founded on April 1st 1936, by William Hayes, and initially located at Hall Street, Halifax, sharing office space with his sister and her business partner. In the early days all deliveries were made by William himself, in his Morris 10 JX 7007, to local shops and businesses that had a requirement for paper and packaging products.

William had experience in the paper industry after his years at Brackens Mill, just outside Halifax, where he was an industrial chemist for a company producing paper goods. This experience landed him in the Chemical Corps in the army in 1916, and on returning to the mill after the 1st World War, he remained there until the mid 1920’s, when he became a ‘commercial traveller’ for a paper merchant in Halifax. In 1936 he took his skills and knowledge and made the decision to establish his own company.

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Since the humble offices at Hall Street, William Hayes Ltd has been located in several locations around Halifax as the company flourished and expanded. After the 2^nd World War, Water Lane was the company’s home, before moving to Ackroyd Stables in Boothtown in 1965; as documented in the Halifax Courier. By the 1960’s the company had branched out and had extended its stock range to include self-adhesive tapes, and had been accepted as an authorised distributor for the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (3M). When William Hayes retired, the company was passed down to his two sons, Desmond and Tony.

The final move, in 1987, was to the current site at Bankfield Works on Haley Hill, Halifax, where William Hayes Ltd continues to be one of the country’s main 3M distributors for self-adhesive tapes and adhesives.