Teamwork is the key to continuing the proud legacy of one of Teesside’ s most iconic industrial sites
FEATURE
Leader – CF Fertilisers engineering manager Imran Khaliq.
Teamwork is the key to continuing the proud legacy of one of Teesside’ s most iconic industrial sites
ENGINEERED FOR SUCCESS
While the Billingham Complex, home of CF Fertilisers UK, has stood the test of time for more than a century, current leaders within the business are focused on delivering the ongoing evolution and modernisation of the site.
This is to keep it at the forefront of industry on Teesside as a manufacturer, an employer and an integral part of the local supply chain.
To achieve their strategic goals and aspirations, the collective and individual contributions of each department count. Here, engineering manager Imran Khaliq reveals how his team are contributing to future-proofing the site for years to come.
As a top-tier Control of Major Accident Hazards( COMAH) site, a designation for facilities operating under the UK’ s highest safety and environmental standards, our primary objectives are to ensure we keep the site safe, reliable, compliant with regulations and one that adapts to new technologies, all while maximising process up-time.
To achieve these goals, we’ re committed to annual multi-million-pound capital expenditure investments across upgrade, compliance and sustenance projects.
Investment onsite At CF, a strong safety culture runs through the business. Do It Right – our overarching safety principle and one of our core values – permeates our decision-making and is always front of mind for our team.
Capital expenditure plans are developed for the short-term but also for five-to-10 years ahead. Based on our annual strategic goals, we work closely with colleagues in operations, maintenance and procurement to prioritise where we focus our efforts, to future-proof our site for all potential issues and obstacles that we might encounter.
During 2025 we completed several important projects. These included a major turnaround for a key nitric acid plant.
Turnarounds are when we take a process offline for a planned period so that major maintenance, inspections, repairs and upgrades can be performed safely.
For this, we ensured all statutory inspections were completed, along with key mechanical equipment installations and electrical and instrumentation( E & I) upgrades. We also upgraded our site security and monitoring systems. This involved upgrading all muster-point and safety check-in points across the site and integrating them into a new network.
This functionality is critical during an emergency event and shows commitment to ensuring we upgrade and adapt to new technologies for the safety of our staff and contractors.
Investments and improvements to our site encompass more than just our strategic goals and process operations.
We also invest based on our employee engagement surveys, responding to feedback and demonstrating our commitment to our people.
Based on this feedback, we upgraded multiple areas across the site last year, including welfare facilities and offices, upgrading existing and installing new facilities and accommodating both male and female workers’ needs.
28 | Tees Business