NEWS
Industry champion – Paul Booth spoke
exclusively to Tees Business as part of
a series of new online interviews.
Teesside
can drive
environmental
solutions,
says industry
champion
Teesside’s chemical industry can be
part of the solution when it comes to
driving the green economy forwards,
says former Tees Valley Local Enterprise
Partnership (LEP) and SABIC chairman Paul
Booth OBE.
Paul says the industry has a lot to offer
– but it will only be achieved if the likes of
industry, academia and government all pull
together to make it work.
In a post-Brexit and Covid-restricted
world, the challenges are laid bare on the
table – that much is evident.
There’s also a building green agenda and
a sustainability movement driving consumer
spending and commercial considerations.
Teesside has the ingredients to satisfy all
the requirements, believes Paul, who spoke
to Tees Business for our Talking Business
feature, sponsored by commercial IT
specialists Cornerstone Business Solutions.
“Putting Covid to one side, I think the
industry has been, for a number of years,
moving towards the green agenda, the
sustainable agenda,” he said.
“The idea that we can move into biochemicals,
bio-feedstocks, offshore wind,
develop the hydrogen economy, CO2 clean
gas. There are lots and lots of ways in which
you can combine chemicals in a greener and
more sustainable way.
“It is about moving from where we are.
The long-term growth plans at hydraulic
engineering company Industrial and
Marine Hydraulics (IMH) have taken a
major step forward following the successful
first phase implementation of its new ERP
system.
Its new Priority ERP system, which went
live earlier this year, is already bringing
basic efficiencies and savings across many
business functions and processes.
IMH, based in Middlesbrough, delivers
major hydraulic engineering projects around
the world. Its capabilities include design
and build, manufacturing, installation,
commissioning, servicing, maintenance and
repairs, as well as component supplies and
training.
In the company’s 37-year history it has
“These investments typically take seven,
eight, nine years from when they start and
these things don’t happen overnight, but I
see generally the industry has been moving
in that direction and continues to move in
that direction.
“Industry is not particularly fazed by
climate change or by the green agenda
because, actually, sustainability and the
green agenda and profitability and giving
us all the products we need is one and the
same thing.”
Paul spent his 50-year career in the
chemical industry, starting out as an
apprentice at ICI to become chairman of
SABIC as well as an ambassador for the
industry. He also chaired the Tees Valley
LEP, spearheading engagement with
business leaders across the region.
The use of plastics has been interesting
during the Covid pandemic and highlights
that we actually do need them in our
lives, he says – safety screens, PPE, food
wrapping materials and the like are keeping
people safe.
“We can’t do without them, but what
we have to do is make them in a different
way, from bio sources, and dispose of them
more economically,” he reflected. “We can
chemically recycle and mechanically recycle
polymers.”
IMH STREAMLINES OPERATIONS
WITH MAJOR OVERHAUL
IMH non-executive
director Paul Griffiths
and managing director
James Griffiths
utilised
several
management
systems,
but as part
of its recent
growth
strategy it
recognised that it would need to streamline
its processes using technology to drive
business performance.
Working with the support of Teesside
University (funded by the Innovate Tees
Valley’s Knowledge Exchange Programme),
the team spent time developing a robust
system scope that identified the many
performance and functional requirements
needed to drive the business forward.
Key changes
to the furlough
scheme
We are now in the
second stage of the
government’s furlough
scheme. Firstly, the rules now
provide an opportunity for
employees to return to work on
a part-time basis whilst allowing
the employer to claim for the cost
of the employee’s wages for the
non-working time the employee
remains furloughed.
This is a change from the
previous scheme under which
employees were not allowed
to work at all. It is intended to
provide the necessary flexibility for
employers wishing to open their
doors without the requirement
to bring all employees back at
once, something which will not be
feasible for many businesses.
The second key point is that,
from August 1, the amount an
employer is able to claim via
furlough is progressively reduced:
> From August 1, the employer
will not be able to claim via
furlough the cost of employer
National Insurance and
pension contributions.
> From September 1, the
employer claim will reduce
to 70% with employer
contributing 10% of the
furloughed employee’s
wages.
> This employer contribution
will increase from 10% to
20% and, therefore, the claim
amount will reduce to 60%
from October 1 through to
closure of the scheme on
October 31.
> The employee will still receive
80% of salary through to
October 31 and it is therefore
a reduction in the relief
available to the employer.
Whilst these are the headline
points, there is a significant
amount of supporting detail and
we would advise taking proper
HR/employment advice as soon as
possible.
Andrew Rowe,
Partner, Baldwins
The voice of business in the Tees region | 11