This company grew out of two Belgian match companies that decided to set up factories in the UK. WGC was chosen for the location for what was known as the Welwyn Match Manufacturing Co. and for the Southern Match Co. The Welwyn Match Manufacturing Company factory was in Broadwater Road, while the Southern Match Company had the lower floor of a building on the corner of Broadwater Road and Hyde Way. Both factories began manufacturing in January 1932 and later that same year were sold and amalgamated into the Welwyn Match Co. Ltd. This company only lasted a couple of years and the factory closed at the end of 1934.