The prestigious Chemical Industry Awards 2024 are back and this year celebrations took place at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) presented eleven trophies to the winners celebrating the outstanding achievements within the UK chemical industry.

Despite unprecedented external challenges, the industry continues to forge ahead in providing essential solutions. This celebration recognises the success of the UK chemical industry and the dedicated efforts of its workforce.

The award entries this year reflect a renewed trading optimism, with a record number of entries for the third year in a row and a real focus on the future, with innovation for sustainability being a continuation of the ever increasing number of entries for the GSK Innovation Award.

Many thanks to all the sponsors and judges. This event would not have been possible without you. Finally, we would also like to congratulate and thank the year 10 students at Bridgewater High School, Warrington, who have once again designed our Award trophies, sponsored by Solvay.

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Winners

Skills Award, sponsored by SIAS part of the Cogent Skills Group

LANXESS, Widnes

During a restructure and challenging economic time, Lanxess did not lose sight of, not just, the need to ensure that their continuing employees were highly trained, but also those departing were fully equipped from a skills point of view to continue working in the chemical science sector.

Sustainability Award, sponsored by SLR

Synthomer plc, London

Judges were impressed by excellent integration of sustainability goals with the business strategy, recognition by a number of external organisations and progress towards those goals. Their innovative Product Sustainability score card sets an excellent, transferable example to others in the sector.

INEOS Responsible Care Award

GSK, Ulverston

This entry provided a solid demonstration of GSK’s commitment to the key principles of Responsible Care. The judges were particularly impressed by the strong evidence of positive leadership, effective employee engagement, and the support given to local communities through the site’s comprehensive outreach programme

Special Responsible Care Award For Process Safety Leadership sponsored by AXIOM

SABIC UK Petrochemicals Ltd, Redcar

SABIC have an impressive process safety record and demonstrable site leadership backed up by a frequently reviewed dashboard. The site has an extensive process safety training programme, starting with the site leadership team, including validation processes to ensure understanding. Judges were also impressed by the extent the site shares learnings with other organisations.

Young Ambassador Award sponsored by Scientific Update

Jonathan Vincent, Process Engineer, INEOS Electrochemical Solutions

Jonathan demonstrated remarkable passion and dedication to advancing the chemical industry. The judges were highly impressed by his commitment to driving innovation, fostering talent, and promoting sustainability. Jonathan’s exceptional leadership skills and enthusiasm for transforming perceptions of our industry represent a significant step forward. The judges are confident that Jonathan will be an outstanding leader for ChemTalent, effectively representing the voice of young professionals in the UK chemical industry.

Diversity and Inclusivity Award sponsored by Dow Chemical Company

SLR Consulting Ltd, Bristol

The breadth of the SLR DE&I programme combined with the link to business strategy, measurement systems and early success impressed the judges. Particular highlights were the ‘working adjustment passport’, the link to wellbeing and the range of awareness training sessions including topics like domestic abuse.

Chemical Industry Service Provider Award, sponsored by CIEC

AXIOM, Stockton-on-Tees

Judges were impressed with Axiom’s growth and presence in the chemicals sector, especially the focus on process safety and their innovative Asset Management Tool. This coupled with Axiom’s commitment to the next generation of engineers through apprenticeships, working with local Further Education colleges and sponsorship of STEM activities make Axiom worthy winners.

GSK Innovation Award

Dow Polyurethanes, Manchester

Dow Polyurethanes predictive intelligence entry demonstrated real quantified benefits to the company, vastly cutting development time and saving resources. Judges felt this entry also had fantastic transferability potential to encourage greater uptake of AI tools in the sector.

Manufacturing and Resource Efficiency Award, sponsored by Womble Bond Dickinson

GSK, Ulverston

Judges were impressed by Ulverston’s continuous improvement programme, focussed around Kaizen workshops and championing individuals ideas. This has resulted in a production increase of 12 million tablets at the same time as significantly reducing solvent use and opex costs and avoiding additional capital expenditure.

Nick Sturgeon Unsung Hero Award sponsored by CIA

This Award is designed to honour an Unsung Hero who works or is closely connected to the chemical industry. The award is given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the industry over a number of years, often through hard work and achievements that haven’t necessarily grabbed the big headlines.

The winner this year was Joanne Love, Solenis

CIA Company of the Year Award

Already winners of 2 awards on the night, GSK have demonstrated continued growth in these challenging times as well as impressive investment in their UK sites. This investment is across the board from production, new state of the art R&D facilities to clean energy. Please give a loud cheer for GSK, the CIA Company of the Year.

2024 Winners