Century Oils first opened their doors as Walker Brothers Oil more than 125 years ago. 

The Century name was adopted in 1900 (hence the change of the street name to Century Street). Though initial production was directed towards consumers, emphasis soon shifted to industrial lubrication. From the beginning, the company was recognized as a high technology company, introducing state of the art products for extended life wagon wheel lubrication and industrial machinery lubrication. Later, when internal combustion engines, automobiles and aircraft became facts of life, innovations progressed with the introduction of superior motor oils, lubricating greases, metalworking fluids and fire resistant hydraulic fluids. 

In 1992, Century was acquired by the Fuchs Group.

Century Oils developed from a partnership founded in Stoke-on-Trent in 1874 the brothers William and John Walker.

The genesis of the Walker business came from the discovery of commercially exploitable deposits of crude oil in the seams of a local colliery. The Walker Brothers distilled crude oil at a refinery built at Cobridge.

The Century Oil Works was located the heart of the potteries where an abundant supply of of coke and coal was required to fire the kilns, and much coal tar was available for processing. Walker's produced a range of products including axle grease, engine oil, paraffin, lamp oil and candles. Their tar wagons would have commonly been seen in local goods trains on the Potteries Loop Line of the NSR.s