The voice of business in the Tees region | 89
Powerhouse - SABIC’s low density
polyethylene (LDPE) plant at Wilton.
“We’re a manufacturing,
industry-based heartland.
I don’t pretend that
we don’t have serious
challenges, but instead of
knocking it and focusing
on the negatives, we
should recognise and
celebrate what we are.”
manufactured chemicals help customers
create strong, lightweight plastic materials,
making vehicles lighter, thereby saving fuel
and CO2 emissions. In the medical fields,
derivatives of SABIC materials are used for
artificial heart valves, CT and MRI scanners
and a host of other ingenious, life-saving
and hygienic medical products. SABIC’s
chemicals are also used in the construction
industry and in insulation materials for
energy-efficient housing.
The irony that Redcar and Cleveland
Council - the local authority for the Wilton
International Site, where SABIC operates
its Olefins and Low Density Polyethylene
plants - promote themselves as a ‘plastic
free’ council is not lost on Daren.
“It’s a challenge, of course,” he admits.
“But we need to listen to and support the
debate about reducing single-use plastic,
while we also need to inform and give a
balanced view.
“I prefer to have an informed discussion
about how we can better use plastic in
society and how we can modify it through
our technological expertise and creativity to
make this incredibly diverse material more
sustainable. That’s the discussion I’d like to
have.
“Plastic is a fabulous material in terms of
its flexibility, durability and strength. At the
moment, there are no credible alternatives
that can do what plastic can do. Recent
research has shown that the environmental
costs of using alternative materials could be
nearly four times greater.
“So we need to think about the way
we produce and recycle plastics - and the
ways in which we can further develop
the technology that is already available
to reutilise our plastics. SABIC is at the
forefront of that innovation.”
It will come as no surprise that Daren is
clear about the value to society of SABIC
and the wider chemical industry but his
“pitch” is highly persuasive.
“If you look at the products that SABIC
manufactures – ethylene, propylene and
butadiene – they go on to form polymers
which support medical healthcare, food and
packaging, the construction and automotive
industries.
“As a packaging material, plastic reduces
food waste and lowers the carbon footprint
of the food and drinks industry, as it uses
far less resources than the products it
protects.
“Our industry, government and the
wider society all want the same thing,
however: to reduce plastic waste so we
leave the environment in a better condition
for generations to come. Technology and
innovation have moved on and our industry
is committed to achieving the goal of
recycling all mixed plastic waste, to play our
role in the creation of a circular economy.
“Here on Teesside, look at the
employment we bring to the region, the
hundreds of millions of pounds we move
into the local economy, firstly through
taxes, but also by giving employment to
many thousands of people, producing
highly skilled people with highly paid jobs,
supporting their lives, and developing their
skills.
“It’s a fact that SABIC on Teesside keeps
the area buoyant, while the wider Teesside
industry creates a scale of employment and
wealth generation that simply doesn’t exist
within the region in any other spheres.”
An adopted Teessider, who studied at
Teesside University and began his career at
Cummings Engineering in Darlington, Daren
speaks with pride about the Tees Valley and
its industrial heritage.
“This region’s history is steeped in
manufacturing – whether that be steel,
ships or chemicals,” he says. “It makes
things. That’s what we’re good at. We need
to sustain that heritage. And I believe we
can all play a part in doing that by speaking
up for the chemical industry.
“We’re a manufacturing, industry-based
heartland. I don’t pretend that we don’t have
serious challenges, but instead of knocking
it and focusing on the negatives, we should
recognise and celebrate what we are.
“I’m incredibly proud that SABIC is at the
heart of it all.”