The company was formed in 1921 from a merger of two rival sugar refiners: Henry Tate & Sons and Abram Lyle & Sons.
Henry Tate established his business in 1859, in Liverpool, later expanding to Silvertown in East London. He used his industrial fortune to find the Tate Institute in Silvertown in 1887, and the Tate Gallery in Pimlico, Central London in 1897.
The Foden 'C' Type was the final design of the over type (engine above boiler) Steam Wagen developed from earlier models. This wagon was introduced in the 1920's and had a double crank compound engine which developed 23 B.H.P. at 450 R.P.M. It was fitted with a spur gearing giving speeds up to 17 M.P.H., but special gearing could be ordered which would enable the wagon to achieve 27 M.P.H. double the permitted speed limit for such wagons.