When it comes to looking at the industries Esseco UK Ltd works with, it might be easier to list the industries it does not count among its customers.
Esseco UK is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, and if you were to go to the trouble of listing all the industries it is active in, you would have to list the food industry, the automotive sector, pharmaceuticals, the agricultural sector, energy, water treatment, paper manufacturers, and the critical national infrastructure of the UK, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
“Although we operate business to business, our products are, very likely, in most of the products that we all use on a daily basis,” Pellegrin tells us.
To get to that point, Esseco UK has come a long way. The company that would one day become Esseco UK was founded in 1878 by Lord Edward Brotherton, under the name Dyson Sons and Brotherton. It was a business that had the distinction of being the first chemical company in Wakefield. When Lord Brotherton died the company went on to change ownership several times. It has been owned by Albright & Wilson Ltd, and by E Green & Son Ltd, who can still be found in Wakefield today. Brotherton’s former company then went on to be owned by the US multinational Church and Dwight Co, Inc.
The firm’s current incarnation was born in 2008, when the company was bought up by the Italian chemical firm Esseco. On purchasing the company that would become Esseco UK, they began a process of asset modernisation. They expanded their portfolio of products and integrated the firm into the Group’s footprint. The Esseco Group itself is one of the main specialty chemicals providers in Europe, with a turnover of over 700 million euros a year and over 1,000 employees worldwide.
Esseco UK contributes 95 Employees and more than £40 million in turnover to those figures.
Green Chemistry
But talking with Pellegrin, it is clear that what really sets Esseco UK apart is something that does not show up on a balance sheet.
“We are a flexible and technologically advanced company and Group driven by strong ethical values,” Pellegrin says. “As a Group we truly embrace the concept of a greener chemistry, working hard to integrate this methodology into our manufacturing processes from the engineering stages through to our final products.”
The company invests heavily in environmentally friendly projects, such as the delivery of a 2024 Capex portfolio that includes a 95% reduction in fossil fuel consumption, and a 68% reduction in CO2 emissions by the end of 2024.
“And this is only the beginning of our journey,” Pellegrin emphasises.
Customers working with Esseco find in them a flexible partner that can leverage the know-how and assets of a Group with over 800 million euros in turnover and one of the main players in the Chlor-Alkali and specialty chemical sector in Europe.
But for Pellegrin, this is about more than the bottom line.
“There were projects that we could have implemented, designed, and executed while spending probably 60% of the actual Capex we have to obtain the same production throughput,” he recalls. “However, in the auctioneering phase we included an energy recovery system that was responsible for the remaining 40% of the current investment. Our payback deteriorated compared to the lean, energy-intensive version, but the decision to go with the energy recovery system was in line with our ethics and values.”
And in this day and age, those values are more important than ever.
“In almost 20 years of history, interpreting the big economic and geopolitical changes has been one of the biggest challenges – but it is also a great opportunity,” Pellegrin says.
Ever since its acquisition, Esseco UK has evolved through a process that has been aligned with the Esseco Group’s values and the best practices in the industry. This transformation has taken place in tandem with expanding its portfolio of customers and products, providing value to the supply chain, and contributing to the local economy of West Yorkshire.
“When we analyse our growth process and shape our Corporate Strategies, we are clear that we can positively contribute to many people’s lives and secure a better future for the generations to come,” says Pellegrin. “We operate our business with these principles in mind. Our Group values drive our decision-making when dealing with external challenges, whether they are aggressive competitors, fluctuations in the price of raw materials, the political-economic environment, a pandemic emergency, or opportunities for new businesses.”
An International Partnership
But to deliver on those values, and overcome the challenges that Esseco UK faces, the company needs people who share Esseco UK’s vision.
“One of the challenges we face as a Chemical Company is attracting talent,” Pellegrin says. “Over the last few years, we have taken a different approach to how we attract talent to the business focusing on boosting our digital presence and developing our employee value proposition.”
In recent months Esseco UK has welcomed several new managers to its leadership team, with significant experience in their field of expertise and people management.
“We believe that a stronger leadership team will support our succession pipeline,” Pellegrin says.
Esseco UK is also in regular contact with the Esseco Group’s recently formed Corporate Team and shares best practice and know-how with its international network of sister companies. This is another way to leverage being part of a larger Group, offering support and the potential for employees to have an international career.
But the relationship between Esseco UK and the Esseco Group is a two-way one. The Group sees the UK market as one of primary interest, and it has big plans to grow sustainably in this market, in line with the Group’s ethical values.
“We are conscious of the current challenges that the chemical industry and the wider economy are facing, and we are sure that our organic plan, integrated at a Group level, will keep Esseco Group and Esseco UK at the forefront of the specialty chemicals manufacturers in Europe and the UK,” Pellegrin says.
