The Changing face of speciality chemicals distribution
Chemicals don't stay specialities for long. Mergers and acquisitions within the European chemical industry, increased price pressure from the Far East and global market awareness heightened by ecommerce have forced distributors and manufacturers alike to reconsider their product ranges.
Developing New Markets
Hawks Chemical Company established fifteen years ago to distribute inorganic bromides and flame retardants, is fully aware of the pressure to develop new markets. "Our product range has changed substantially over the past five years" says Reg Warren managing director of the UK distributor based in the north of England, "Our traditional areas of business were being eroded and we had to look ahead. Whilst we have maintained a core business based upon the distribution of halogenated compounds, we have now developed other niche profit centres which were outside our experience five years ago."
Hawks sees its additional area of expertise as bringing together manufacturers with specific chemical expertise in India and customers within the European pharmaceutical sector. Over the past ten years the company has developed excellent relationships with a small number of Indian chemical companies.
"We find the Indian manufacturers easy to work with and WE make regular visits to India to ensure good working practices, highquality products and packing," adds Lee Bradley who co-ordinates freight and logistics, as well as sourcing new chemicals."
We have years of experience of working to ISO 9002 and complying with the stringent demands of the Health & Safety Executive. This experience has assisted us when helping our sister companies achieve GMP compliance to audits by European chemical companies."
Once a demand is identified for a particular chemical, Hawks can either import it frorn one of its sister companies or arrange the contract manufacture. The company's expertise in this process is exemplified by a product which Hawks calls 'Prezomet'. "There was a requirement for this chemical from a contract manufacturer in Europe," explains business development manager, Dr Peter Robinson. Although this compound could be manufactured in India, the logistics of transport were a major difficulty.
"We had real problems with this one," he says. "The material had been evaluated as thermally safe up to 40oC.
However, it was classified as a self reactive solid and thus must be IT moved in double-engine refrigerated containers. We had to work with the Indian Port Authorities and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the UK to authorise shipment of this potentially hazardous cargo. We then had to arrange the shipping and find chilled storage and transport within the UK. Once the logistics looked feasible, we approached one of our sister companies with which there was natural synergy, and asked it to manufacture it for us. I went out to India to check that the chemical was being manufactured and stored appropriately, and once I was satisfied then we could go ahead." The future of this aspect of the business leeks set to grow considerably.
Moving The Focus
Hawks is gradually shifting the focus of its business from moving tonne lots of lowervalue chemicals to kilo lots of higher-value stock.
"Through our in-depth knowledge of the chemical companies in India we can target their strengths and promote them into the European chemical industry Increasingly chemical companies are looking to outsource the first few steps of a pharmaceutical synthesis and using retrosynthetic analysis we can offer them the key intermediates they require," says Dr Robinson.
Even Hawk's Chemicals core business has changed shape, "We now specialise in exporting bottled bromine to the UK and Europe. Our patented UN approved package gives us the edge over our competitors in the current climate of responsible care and safety," comments Dan Kaye, senior sales executive. An award given by the MCCI, in the category 'Expanding Boundaries for Export' has recently acknowledged this achievement.
"The inorganic bromides we distribute have also become more specialised. The traditional markets of photography and dyeing are mature. We have had to add a wider range of metal halides to our range," he adds.
Their quality too, has been improved. "For example we now distribute extremely pure anhydrous salts which have special applications - as opposed to powders containing moisture which were more of a commodity."
And the future? "We're confident that we've carved a niche for ourselves." concludes Reg Warren, "We have an unusual combination of technical prowess, sales expertise and sourcing finesse. We are working on a lot of new potential products and we are very optimistic."