 Lord Hanson and Gordon White (later Lord White of Hull) formed a partnership in the 1960s, and began a greetings card business.The two men also began buying other companies, in such diverse industries as fertilisers and bricks, which all sat under the umbrella of a listed entity called Hanson Trust (later renamed simply Hanson).By the 1980s, the Hanson Trust operated in both Europe and North America, purchasing under-managed businesses in sectors such as batteries, locks and safes.