MANCHESTER, UK — HMG Paints Chairman Brian Falder died Sept. 19, 2019, at the age of 88. He was a man whose entire lifetime was interwoven inextricably with the paint industry. Falder was born in 1931 to Herbert and Ellen Falder. Just seven months before his birth his father founded H Marcel Guest Ltd. (HMG) with a partner, and by the time of Brian’s birth his father had taken over the struggling and fledgling company in its entirety.
At the age of 14, Falder left school to work on for the company. His family life was shaped by paint. When he met his wife of 65 years, Beryl, he discovered that she worked for Sterling Varnish in Trafford Park. He commented, “A girl in the paint industry? … I had better marry you!”