Celebrating the  best of the UK chemical industry

London, 21 May 2024 – The prestigious Chemical Industry Awards 2024 are back! This June, at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne, the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) will present trophies to the winners of the 2024 Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements within the UK chemical industry.

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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 UK chemical sector has reported signs of growth during the first quarter of this year and optimism for the rest of 2024 remains strong. Reflecting this renewed optimism, the award entries this year hit a record high for the third consecutive year, emphasising innovation and sustainability. This trend is particularly evident in the GSK Innovation Award, which saw an increase in entries focused on sustainability, including new products and techniques aimed at enhancing downstream sector sustainability, reducing carbon footprints, and addressing societal issues such as carbon capture and plastics recycling.

This year, the Sustainability Award has been revamped, attracting high-quality entries that demonstrate how sustainability integrates with companies’ business strategies and goals. The entries also highlighted engagement with recognised external organisations and showcased practical examples of sustainability in action. Another notable trend is the increased use of digital techniques and artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency in manufacturing, R&D, and supply chain management. These trends reflect significant investments in the future of the UK chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the CIA, said:

“The Chemical Industry Awards are designed to offer a unique opportunity to highlight and promote excellent performance at the company, site, and individual levels. I am pleased to announce the shortlist and would like to thank all entrants and sponsors for their support. I look forward to our industry-leading Awards, where the winners will be announced. Congratulations to all!”

Chemical Industry Awards 2024 sponsors for the Innovation, Young Ambassador and Process Safety individual awards.

Zen Cai, GSK Site Director at Irvine and Innovation Award sponsor:

“We’re proud to sponsor the GSK Innovation Award, which celebrates innovation that helps solve today’s societal challenges. At GSK, we are committed to accelerating innovation so that we can manufacture and supply our vaccines and medicines faster, enabling us to get ahead of disease and positively impact the health of billions of people. We recognise the power of innovation to get ahead of issues that matter for society – and that’s why we’re proud to sponsor this award. We can’t wait to find out who will win this year.” 

Peter Hunt, Commercial Director at AXIOM and Special Responsible Care Award For Process Safety Leadership sponsor: 

“We are delighted to support the Chemical Industry Awards in celebration of the achievements and talent across the UK Chemical industry. This awards ceremony provides formal recognition to those for their innovative-thinking and is a great inspiration to us all.

Sponsorship of the Special Responsible Care Award for Process Safety Leadership is particularly important to AXIOM. We understand the importance of Process Safety across industrial operations and our aim is to share learning, collaborate, encourage and improve Process Safety across the asset lifecycle for the benefit of all stakeholders.” 

Claire Francis, Director at Scientific Update and Young Ambassador Award sponsor:

“Scientific Update are delighted to sponsor the Young Ambassador Award and encourage the next generation of chemists to think about what really matters in the chemical industry and what key part they can play in it. Through the application and judging process it is wonderful to meet so many talented young people and encourage them to achieve their career aspirations.”

The finalists for the Chemical Industry Awards 2024 are:

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

  • Dow, Barry

  • DOW EMEAI, Manchester

  • Eastman Chemicals, Newport

  • ExxonMobil, Southampton

  • GSK, Montrose

  • LANXESS, Widnes

  • Veolia ES (UK) Ltd, London

Sustainability Award, sponsored by SLR

  • Dow Consumer Solutions, Barry

  • Orbia, Runcorn

  • Synthomer plc, London

  • Tradebe Solvent Recycling Ltd, Sunderland

  • Venator, Stockton-on-Tees

INEOS Responsible Care Award 

  • GSK, Ulverston 
  • Lubrizol 

Special Responsible Care Award For Process Safety Leadership sponsored by AXIOM

  • Eastman Chemicals, Newport

  • ExxonMobil, Cowdenbeath

  • ExxonMobil, Southampton

  • SABIC UK Petrochemicals Ltd, Redcar

Young Ambassador Award sponsored by Scientific Update

  • Ayesha Nawa, Applications Specialist, Solenis UK Industries Limited

  • Lucy Jones, Research Scientist, Incotec (Croda), Enkhuizen

  • Luke Pearson-Turner, Supply Chain Degree Apprentice, Product Lifecycle Data Management, GSK ,Barnard Castle

  • Sam Kirkland, Operations Manager, Veolia ES (UK) Ltd, Avonmouth

  • Jonathan Vincent, Process Engineer, INEOS Electrochemical Solutions

Diversity and Inclusivity Award sponsored by Dow Chemical Company

  • CF Fertilisers UK Ltd, Billingham

  • SLR Consulting Ltd, Bristol

Chemical Industry Service Provider Award, sponsored by CIEC

  • AXIOM, Stockton-on-Tees

  • E3 Recruitment, Halifax

  • H2 Compliance, Dublin

  • Hibiscus Plc, Leeds

  • IKM Consulting, Grangemouth

  • SRG, Manchester

  • Veolia ES (UK) Ltd, Ellesmere Port

  • Water Plus, Stoke-on-Trent

  • Womble Bond Dickinson, Newcastle upon Tyne

GSK Innovation Award

  • AM Technology Runcorn

  • Celtic Renewables Ltd, Edinburgh

  • Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca USA

  • Dow Coatings, Dewsbury

  • Dow Industrial Solutions, Manchester

  • Dow Polyurethanes, Manchester

  • Dow Polyurethanes, Manchester

  • Libra Speciality Chemicals Ltd, Irlam

  • Porous Liquid Technologies, Belfast

  • ReVentas, Livingston

  • SLR Consulting Limited, London

  • Veolia ES (UK) Ltd, Walsall

Manufacturing and Resource Efficiency Award, sponsored by Womble Bond Dickinson

  • Airedale Group, Keighley

  • Croda, Widnes

  • GSK, Montrose

  • GSK, Ulverston

  • Libra Speciality Chemicals Ltd, Irlam

  • MacDermid Graphics Solutions, Wigan

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 will be 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. Some of the people nominated are not aware so we will not be announcing the shortlist in advance.

CIA Company of the Year Award

  • Dow

  • GSK

  • Libra

  • Veolia

 Congratulations to all the finalists! We look forward to celebrating your achievements at the Awards ceremony.

 

NOTES TO EDITOR: 

For more information please contact Diana Tamayo at tamayod@cia.org.uk. About the Chemical Industries Association (CIA):

The CIA is the leading national trade association representing and advising chemical and pharmaceutical businesses in the UK. From providing expert
advice to facilitating networking between members, sharing good practice and reporting on policy developments, the CIA stands ready to support our members to ensure the chemical industry continues to drive growth and innovation in the UK.

  • Businesses who make chemical products and solutions are integral to something like 96% of all manufactured goods.  Whether it is ingredients for food and medicines; paints and coatings for cars and planes or materials for mobile phones and electric vehicle batteries, the chemical industry is truly the “industry of industries” – also playing a critical role in the nation’s response to Covid-19 through its supply of hand sanitiser, PPE and vaccine ingredients.

  • The Association’s manifesto sets out a series of offers and asks for the Government

  • Chemical businesses are located throughout the UK, with many of them clustered together in the North East of England, North West of England and Central Scotland.  These factories and laboratories, operated by a highly trained and skilled workforce, make a significant contribution towards the UK’s productivity performance.  

  • Roughly 140 thousand people are employed in the sector and nearly half a million have roles that are dependent on the sector. Chemical workers typically earn around 21% more than other manufacturing industries and almost 27% more than the average worker.

  • From Runcorn to the Humber Bank; from Teesside to Grangemouth, chemical businesses and their employees right across the country are essential to the Government’s levelling-up agenda.

  • We are the country’s second biggest manufacturing exporters, sending goods to the value of more than £60 billion to other countries. The EU represents our most important market, but we continue to work closely with Government to inform and secure UK trade deals with other key chemical markets such as Japan and the USA.

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