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Although both Stephen and John are stepping down from the board of Directors we will continue to rely on their indispensable industry expertise
����������������������������������������������������������������������� like to recognise two members of the Airedale Chemical board who stepped down from their duties as Directors in December 2016 .
Firstly Stephen Wilkinson , whose contribution and commitment to the company over the last 20 years has been second to none . When Stephen �������������������������������������������������������������������������� asset , establishing and growing Airedale Chemicals market position in the textile industry considerably . His vast knowledge of dyes and keen eye for a sale was inevitably a brilliant combination that contributed hugely to the company ’ s solid growth through the 1990 ’ s . It ’ s fair to say it was ���������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� presence in commodity chemicals , so as a result we didn ’ t entirely see eye to eye . But like every great partnership we came to respect one another and now 20 years later are the best of friends . I look forward to Stephen continuing to grow the company ’ s textile business going forward and wish him luck on his next chapter at Airedale Chemical .
�������������������������������������������������������������������������� the chemical industry , meeting him over 25 years ago . Despite not working together at that point we had a great working relationship and would often catch up at various functions throughout the year . I actually tried on numerous occasions to persuade John to join Airedale Chemical but he was �������������������������������������������������������������������������� and immediately made his mark delivering impressive sales early on . As such John was made a Director in 2013 as acknowledgment for his huge contribution to the company and his incomparable market knowledge . I can ����������������������������������������������������������
Although both Stephen and John are stepping down from the board of Directors we will continue to rely on their indispensable expertise going forward .
�������������������������������������������������������������������������� months as Managing Director in which time he has delivered unprecedented results . His youthful , modern mid-set is now beginning to position Airedale Chemical with a more polished , corporate model that is in my opinion �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� work so far and I look forward to seeing Chris and his team deliver similarly impressive results this year .
I ’ m pleased to announce Airedale Chemical met all its sales targets in 2016 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� a fantastic achievement . For the year ahead , as always , we will be striving
��������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� year as we move forward into a key period in our company ’ s history .
Airedale Solutions , it ’ s fair to say , experienced a more challenging 2016 although positively turnover was up over 35 % versus 2015 . This year , like with Airedale Chemical , will be a crucial period for the company as we look to increase turnover by 40 %. We feel this is achievable by continuing to develop new opportunities with our existing customers and importantly penetrate new markets outside the UK in branded sales . Further to this , we see no ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� to maximise the investments made over the last 2 years . I ’ d like to thank �������������������������������������������������������������������������� say that the future certainly does look bright for Airedale Solutions .
������������������������������������������������������������������������������ under group ownership . I ’ d like thank Martin Leighton and his team for ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� period . Martin will now look to continue developing our product portfolio with new , commercially satisfying ingredients , whilst seeking new supplier ������������������������������������������������������������������� presence in the market is huge a priority for Rigest and with our growth plan now in place we envisage increases in our number of active customers through a solid sales and marketing strategy .
We hope you enjoy this edition of Chemistry Connected .
Richard Chadwick
Group Chairman
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