The chemical industry in the United Kingdom plays a vital role in the make up of the countries, contributing significantly to employment, the economy and innovation for infrastructure and product development across wide markets and industries which are served throughout the region. At Brenntag, we believe that strong investments in our own capabilities contribute extensively to investments in the industry overall, and lead to stronger economic growth, development and innovation and the creation of more jobs to the benefit of the chemical distribution industry.
Innovation in crucial in order to move the industry forward and to build on the crucial foundations that have been outlined in recent years:
Sustainability – the development of greener alternatives, eco-friendly packaging and energy efficient processes
Safety – improved labelling and enhanced safety protocols, safer handling, storage and transportation
Efficiencies – logistics and supply chain management, vehicle routing and automation
Meeting the needs of the customers – developing new products or adjusting existing products, customized solutions and value-added services
But in order for innovation to foster, we must continue to get the basics right, and ensure that the core model for which we base our investments is secure. A reliable network of locations throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland is the basis for which the infrastructure we rely on to operate, enabling us to be close to our customers and be on hand to understand their evolving requirements. Further, our large fleet of vehicles enables us to move product up and down the countries throughout the day and night in order to ensure the products distributed are where they need to be. Getting the basics right then allows for looking at areas of improved efficiencies and investment opportunities.
Identifying key areas of investments and ways to enhance our business and the industry to the betterment for the customer and the environment, in August 2022 Brenntag acquired Prime Surfactants Ltd and Prime Example Ltd. To ensure the best possible utilisation of the market knowledge inherent within the teams and harness the capabilities, Prime Surfactants Ltd and Prime Example Ltd were amalgamated into one location in Leeds.
The moving of the teams in one central location, and the merging of the existing HI&I and Personal Care teams from Brenntag into the same location has enabled us to invest into the location and develop a new Personal Care and HI&I laboratory. This will function as a satellite lab and allow the formed teams to develop onsite, innovation, valued added and green solutions across the markets, guided by the existing Centres of Excellence in France and Germany, and translate into local customized projects.
Another area of innovation has been the focus on improving the filling operations across our locations. Large investments in this area have led to significantly improved efficiencies by changing various manual, labour intensive processes to semi-automated or fully automated systems. These investments are designed to reduce the volume of manual handling that takes place, improve our process safety and contribute to improved customer service for the products in which we offer.
We have also recently taken the delivery of our first fully automated filling system which is currently scheduled to be operational in Q1 2024.
We now look at investing further into the existing infrastructure across our locations that handle sulphuric acid and have dilution capabilities which are being enhanced at multiple sites to allow us to meet evolving customer requirements and strive for ever improving safety processes.
As the United Kingdom seeks to secure its position as a global leader, investment in the chemical industry is a strategic imperative that will bring both immediate and long-term benefits to the nation and its stakeholders.
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