North East-based water and wastewater treatment specialist, Biochemica Group Ltd, has appointed a new managing director as part of its ambitious growth strategy.
The Billingham-headquartered Company, which counts major blue chip companies across a variety of sectors including food and beverage, petro-chemical, pharmaceutical and utilities among its most prestigious clients, recorded a turnover of £6m, up 23% on the previous year.
Off the back of this success, Biochemica, which operates internationally, has completed a group restructure and commissioned John Fraser to help drive it forward, as it targets expansion into new industries.
John has been assigned the joint roles of Group MD, where his main focus is to help the board develop and implement a strategy for growth for the Biochemica Group, and MD of Biochemica Water Ltd.
As the man at the helm of Biochemica Water Ltd, whose key service areas include Legionella control, monitoring and management services, wastewater treatment, boiler water treatment, cooling water treatment and chemical supply, John will be responsible for the performance of the Company through the formulation and successful implementation of company policy.
Speaking about his new positions, John, who brings with him over 10 years’ experience within the industry, said: “I was delighted to be approached by Biochemica, as I knew they had an excellent reputation within the water treatment sector and are regarded as one of the most competitive companies in the industry.
“After meeting with both Dave Ruddy, the CEO and Chairman, Tim Robinson, and hearing their vision for the future of the company, I realised it was who I wanted to work for.
“The group restructure is an exciting move, as under the new board we now have a structure that is robust and scalable to meet the requirements of our growth and ambition, as well as allowing more specific and tailored brands to flourish for each customer base. I like to think my role enables me to be the glue that holds and supports the team.”
With a background in chemical engineering, John previously worked for BNFL, Bulkhaul Ltd and Nalco Ltd before joining Biochemica and is one of the 10-year-old company’s most recent additions, alongside Gary Lumby MBE, who was appointed last year as a non-executive director.
Following a successful period of growth in 2016, the Company took on 11 new members of staff and six apprentices, taking its total number of employees to 52. This year, the restructure has not only lead to new appointments; a number of significant promotions have occurred within the Company, with Dr Sandra Rountree promoted to corporate sales manager, Tony Stubbs promoted to UK sales manager and Jemma Tennant promoted to UK operations manager.
“We’ve started 2017 continuing on from last year’s success and we’re on a growth path which requires all our team to align together and push us to become the best in the marketplace,” said Tim Robinson.
“The new group structure will allow us to have dedicated business units focusing on their respective sectors and client base. We’re aiming to tailor each company and brand for that specific client base and ultimately offer the customer a package that best fits their requirements.
“With his professional approach and excellent people skills, John will take us further as he is an exceptional people person and has gained respect amongst all the staff.”
Having already created new divisions under the group restructure, including Biochemica Leisure which supplies hot tub, spa and swimming pool chemicals and accessories to the trade, Biochemica is currently developing a strategy for the air business, as well as looking into new industries.
Dave Ruddy added: “Throughout 2017 we will be focusing on securing further group deals within the food and beverage sector and the chemical industry.
“We’ll also be continuing our work exporting water treatment chemicals, particularly in BRIC countries, where there are tremendous opportunities. After successfully exporting to Bangladesh last year, we are going on a fact-finding mission to India next month to look at potential opportunities there, and we’ll continue to look at other export opportunities throughout Europe and the rest of world as the company grows.”
For more information on Biochemica, please visit, http://www.biochemica.co.uk/