Demand clears the way for plant to stay on site
While the next chapter for most of the vast industrial site beneath the iconic Huntsman Pigments stack remains unwritten, as it is marketed by specialist property agents, a segment is being isolated for Huntsman's EA West business, a critical supplier of ferric sulphate to many huge British water supply companies.
Huntsman's EA West business has operated in the Moody Lane site at Grimsby since 1997.
The business, which was a natural fit with the plant as it took a by-product from titanium dioxide as a raw material, has gone to the open market to source additional suppliers of some of the raw materials it requires to produce ferric sulphate, to help ensure the continuity of the business.
Ferric sulphate is used to aid the removal of contaminants from drinking water and as legislation tightens up, the investment tap could be turned on by Huntsman as demand for ferric sulphate is expected to increase.
Simon Roberts, EA West's business manager, said: "It is a stable business and could well grow considerably from 2012 onwards.
"This is down to legislation around phosphate removal and the water companies are gearing up for that.
"There is likely to be a significant increase in demand for what we produce on the horizon in terms of UK requirement, which would be good news for this plant."
Recent months have seen a lot of work around utility provision on Huntsman's Grimsby site, ensuring that should a sale of the remaining Tioxide manufacturing site be concluded, EA West will still continue to be a self-sufficient plant.
Issues surrounding compressed air and gas supply have been worked around, and while complex, the comparably recent addition of the EA West business to the Grimsby site has aided the work.
"The ferric sulphate plant was relocated from Derby in 1997," said Mr Roberts, who joined the Grimsby site then as a graduate engineer. "It was slotted into the site, so it lends itself to being cut out as a separate business."
Current capacity allows for 140,000 tonnes of ferric sulphate a year to be produced. Mr Roberts said: "We are running well below that at the moment, but when the plant was built in 1997 they had the foresight to put in expansion capability. All the civil engineering work allows for expansion to 200,000 tonnes. Using that extra capacity is now a possibility that could be on the cards."
Initially created as a silk dyeing operation in the mid-19th century by Elisa and Anne West, water treatment uses for ferric sulphate were first explored in the 1960s. EA West now supplies about 40 per cent of the UK market, supplying to the likes of Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent, further north to Northumberland and down to the tip of Cornwall.
A total of 15 people remain on the Huntsman site working for EA West, with a further 22 contractors completing the decommissioning and exporting specialist equipment from the titanium production process to other Huntsman sites.
As previously reported, production of Tioxide titanium dioxide products at Grimsby ceased in March. The final bag remains on site in a glass cabinet.
Mr Roberts praised the employees' professionalism when he said: "The guys who have stayed on have created a tight, small team that is flexible to meet what needs to be done."
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