FEATURE
Commitment – CF responds to feedback in employee engagement surveys to invest in its people.
Supply chain partners Since the days of ICI operating the site, the Billingham Complex has always taken its role in the local community seriously, which includes investing in and developing local talent.
The multi-million-pound yearly investment in our capital, revenue and maintenance expenditure benefits not only the site but also the local supply chain and talent pool.
In 2025, the complex invested more than £ 25m with local suppliers, strengthening the regional supply chain and supporting high-value jobs across Teesside.
For many of our projects, we utilise the additional support of local contract resources, benefitting from the industry, skills and expertise on our doorstep.
This includes local engineers and designers, maintenance support, term contractors, technical specialists and many more trades.
In addition, apart from certain bespoke items where we may have a preferred vendor, we always attempt to source most of our new equipment and instrumentation here on Teesside, or within the UK if that’ s not possible.
This brings tangible benefits to our region and beyond, supporting CF employees and the associated supply chains.
Growth and development At CF, our talent pathways provide all employees with training opportunities for personal and professional development.
Outreach – nitric acid mechanical engineer Ruth McKinlay and site process engineer Kayleigh Hullah are both involved in delivering CF’ s STEM programme in local schools and colleges.
As a people leader, I actively encourage our engineers to gain experience within our department and in others.
We work closely with our colleagues in operations and maintenance, for example, and I believe strongly in people gaining a more rounded experience and knowledge of the wider CF business.
As part of the global CF Industries, we have also sent many of our UK engineers to our North American sites to assist with important turnaround work.
This allows the team to gain experience of different sites and technologies, as well as experiencing other working environments and cultures, all while showcasing their own expertise and value to the business.
Inspiring the next generation STEM education is one of the priority areas for our Inclusion Resource Group, which is a forum to engage with and support the local community.
As a business, we want to see STEM talent stay on Teesside, so from the youngest learners to college and university students, we’ re playing our role in educating and inspiring the next generation.
Our engineers go out and talk about what we do, their own work and their journeys to CF in an age-appropriate way, showcasing how a love of STEM subjects can translate into jobs and careers for everyone, regardless of gender.
Looking ahead As we look ahead to the rest of 2026 and beyond, we will continue to execute key projects. These include investment in the site’ s E & I infrastructure across multiple process areas, investment in site assets ahead of major turnaround activity in 2027, the replacement of aged assets and various process upgrades to increase throughput on key processes, improve reliability and, above all, to ensure a safe and compliant plant.
Another key new area will be assessment of our cybersecurity architecture to ensure our systems remain safe, are protected from external threat and that we adhere to all new legislation.
Engineering excellence is at the heart of what we strive for at CF. I’ m proud to lead the engineering department with a team of dedicated and talented engineers.
It’ s always my aim to ensure we continue the great work and legacy of this site and continue to invest in and recognise our people, keeping this site running safely and compliantly for years to come.
The voice of business in the Tees region | 29