"HAJDUKI" was founded by a Silesian named Ćmok who in 1888 started his small coal tar and crude benzol distillery. After his death the company was taken over by a German industrialist, Rudolf Rütgers, who developed it to a considerable extent. Within the interwar period "HAJDUKI" was the biggest and the most modern coal derivatives processing plant in Europe that manufactured high quality products like: phenols, piridyne bases, pure naphthalene, anthracene, benzene, cresols and semi-products for the paint and varnish industry, etc.

After some time production of coal derivatives became a big ecological problem for the region and the inhabitants. It was necessary to change the production processes and to liquidate the technologies that were most unfriendly to environment.In 1975 "HAJDUKI" merged with Katowicka Fabryka Farb i Lakierów (Katowice Paint and Varnish Factory)

and in 1980 "HAJDUKI" started manufacturing varnish products and varnish semi-products, which are constantly modified. The changes resulted in a radical departure from production of coal derivatives towards production of modern varnish products. In February 1995 "HAJDUKI" changed its ownership form into a Joint-Stock Company and in the subsequent year the Company was included in the Mass Privatisation Program. Majority interest was received by VI Narodowy Fundusz Inwestycyjny S.A. (VI National Investment Fund). In 2001 "HAJDUKI" left the NIF and the majority interest was taken over by the Polish company Mercury Recycling.