48 | Tees Business
LAND
OF THE
GIANTS
A
rare opportunity for a night-time
guided tour of Teesside’s chemical
and process industries was enjoyed
by dozens as part of the annual
Discover Middlesbrough Festival.
Teesside chemical company SABIC
sponsored the tour of Wilton’s Industry at
Night, with the general public invited on a
behind-the-scenes coach trip around the
Wilton International site.
Visitors got a close-up opportunity to see
the dramatic industrial skyline that inspired
North East-born director Ridley Scott’s
opening to classic sci-fi film Blade Runner.
The tour took in SABIC’s iconic Olefins
6 ‘Cracker’, a plant described as the
cornerstone of Teesside’s industry.
Now nearly four decades old, the plant
recently underwent a successful multi-
million pound overhaul – the largest single
investment in Teesside’s chemical industry
in a generation - safeguarding thousands of
local jobs.
Celebrating the industrial icons
that inspired Blade Runner movie
The tour, which was led by Sembcorp
Utilities UK’s Terry Waldron and SABIC’s
Steve Jones, also took in the Saudi
company’s LDPE plant, Sembcorp’s Biomass
Power Station, the Wilton 11 energy-
from-waste plant operated by Suez, the
Huntsman-owned Aniline plant and many
of the site’s other features including its
extensive pipeline infrastructure.
Claire Wordsworth, SABIC’s senior
communications business partner, said: “It
was the second year running that SABIC
have hosted this tours, and both times it has
been a sell-out.
“More than 100 people of all ages enjoyed
this year’s tour, some coming from as far
away as Harrogate for the evening. There is
obviously a real appetite to learn more about
our local industry and its importance to both
the Teesside and overall UK economy.
“As a key employer in the region we feel
it’s extremely important to engage with our
local community and stakeholders in this way
to provide an insight into what we actually
do.
“We’re very grateful to Sembcorp for
assisting with the nighttime visits. Given the
fantastic feedback we’ve received, we look
forward to undertaking them again next year
too.”
Sembcorp provides secure and reliable
utilities and services to customers on the
2,000-acre site including electrical power,
steam and water, and also owns much of the
available development land.
The past 18 months has seen a marked
increase in the number of enquiries it has
received from energy-intensive processing
firms and their supply chain partners
Waldron said: “It was a pleasure to host
the visit. The Wilton International site at night
has a beauty of its own and our visitors were
quick to recognise that. With the energy,
space and opportunities that are here we can
play an important part in the overall economic
regeneration of this area.”