connects - solvay · connects. moving forward magazine editor: julie hitchin. lostock co-ordinator:...

Summer 2015Nº 33

Magazine of the Solvay Group

in the UK

Solvay Employee Survey

Farewell from Len Sharpe

Solvay Science Conference

Connects

Moving Forward

Magazine Editor: Julie Hitchin. Lostock Co-ordinator: Julie Evans. Specialty Polymers Co-ordinator: Helen Plant. Novecare Co-ordinator: Andrew Baud. Contributors: Jean Allen, Wayne Allen, Jean-François Berthiaume, Frédéric Bouchat, Valérie Braut, Melvin Dawes, Martin Griffiths, Erica Kornijenko, Steve Pennington, Guillaume Peron, Taunya Renson, Len Sharpe, Katy Tait, Vic Walters. Design Layout: Paula Lang. Contact us at: Solvay Connects, Solvay House, Baronet Road, Warrington WA4 6HA E-mail address: [email protected] Website addresses: www.solvay.com and www.solvay.co.uk

Magazine of the Solvay Group in the UK. Quarterly nº 33 Summer 2015

Hello

3 Len Sharpe says farewell from Warrington

6 Halifax

7 Oldbury

Cover

Len Sharpe (right) hands over the key to the Warrington site to Craig Barraclough

8 Solvay Employee Survey

10 Solar Energy

12 Solar Impulse 14 Function ID Card

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Hello and welcome to the summer edition of Solvay Connects, the magazine for Solvay’s employees in the UK, their families and our many business partners.

Starting on page 3, Len Sharpe reflects on his seven years at Warrington as he prepares to hand the reins over to his successor Craig Barraclough (see front cover). We would all like to thank Len for his posit ive contr ibution to the sustainability of the Warrington site and wish him, and his wife Ethne, a happy and healthy future when they return to Australia.

Page 6 provides a community update from Halifax and page 7 features a visit to Oldbury by Solvay’s Chief Financial Officer, Karim Hajjar; with Lostock news on page 19. Our corporate pages, starting on page 8, contain feedback from the 2015 Solvay Employee Survey along with articles on Solar Energy and Corporate Strategy. Follow Solar Impulse’s journey on page 12 and its plans for the future since its safe landing in Abu Dhabi after a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean.

15 Training & Development

16 Solvay Science Conference

18 Community & Charity

19 Solvay people

Solvay once again teamed up with Priestley College for the fourth Annual Science Conference to inspire scientists of the future. See pages 16 and 17 to read about the students’ challenges and scientific projects to prepare them for learning in a college laboratory.

Pages 18 and 19 confirm how active our Solvay employees and their families continue to be in the community with various fundraising activities. Well done to Katy Tait’s daughters, Lillian and Harriet, for climbing Mount Snowdon and good luck to Andy Connell for his 100-mile bike ride.

In our next issue we look forward to introducing you to Craig Barraclough as he settles into life at Warrington site. In the meantime, I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading Issue 33 of Solvay Connects and we are always pleased to hear from you with any feedback or suggestions for future articles.

Julie HitchinEditor

2 SOLVAY Connects[ Summer 2015 ] [ nº 33 ]

It seems a little strange to think that by the time the next edition of Solvay Connects arrives in your letterbox I will be back in the Land Down Under. Sadly, come the end of September it will be time for me to bid farewell and leave the Warrington site.

I am extremely proud to have been associated with the success of our site over these last seven years.

Thinking back over my time at Warrington there are so many exciting times to remember, though some difficult and sad memories in the mixture too.

It was all happening when I arrived in 2008 and I was privileged to be in time to be a part

of the Warrington AO process 50th Birthday celebrations, a very proud moment for the site. It was also just after the sale of the Caprolactone business to Pe r s t o r p wi t h b o t h organisations creating new identit ies within the site. This has d e v e l o p e d i n t o a successful partnership with Perstorp investing to expand capacity and this in turn has contributed to giving the site a dynamic, forward-looking outlook.

2011 was a year that got off to an excellent start with the site gaining external recognition

through registration to ISO 14001 for its effective Environmental Management System. We didn’t stop there. We continued to improve our Safety Management System and this too was recognised the following year with registration to BS-OHSAS 18001. These were great rewards for the tremendous amount of work done by the team.

Solvay’s UK sites have a good safety record but there is always room for improvement and here at Warrington we have worked hard to invigorate our Safety Culture programmes. I’d like to reinforce the message behind our positive safety discussion efforts: we are

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all responsible for keeping our colleagues safe at work. It is important to maintain a culture that keeps a balance between

recognising and praising good pract ice and r a i s i n g t h e awareness of situations where we put ourselves at risk. We all must regularly r e m i n d o u r -selves of the possible conse-quences of our

actions and also our inactions.

It’s all about teamwork and to increase the awareness of process safety everyone on site has attended the appropriate training course for our area of activity within the site.

Solvay has continued to improve the site with ongoing investment - new cooling towers, new process air compressors, upgrading of the reversion process, refurbishing of the hydrogen peroxide storage area, distillation improvements, and process heat recovery to mention just a few of the developments.

Then there is Paramove®: a veterinary medicine and a fundamentally different product which was developed in the 1990s but its market opportunity came in the last few years and the site has grabbed it and continues to make the very best of the

“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things,

Of Percarbonate, Peroxide and Paramove®

Of change and handing overAnd why the thought there’d always be tomorrow’s episode Suddenly isn’t true anymore For the man from the Land Down Under…” (With apologies to Lewis Carroll !)

(L to R) Richard Tarver & auditor Tony Higley

Moving on Warrington

3SOLVAY Connects [ Summer 2015 ] [ nº 33 ]

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opportunities presented. We achieved a

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) registration, essential for Paramove®. The site has risen to the challenges of the market at every stage and will continue to evolve along with the aquaculture market.

Solvay’s evolution is a fascinating story and the 150th Anniversary celebration was an opportunity to remember Solvay’s long association with the UK, beginning back in 1872 and the story of our Warrington site since 1970. Many employees still wear the

Len with Mark Sullivan

commemorative fleece bearing the new Solvay logo and no doubt they will reappear when Autumn leaves arrive. I have to smile as this mention of fleeces brings to mind the time when the previous fleeces were issued with their “Sustainability” logo. Timing was everything. The heating system failed in the main office on the very day of presentation

and it was the belief of many that a cost reduction programme was being implemented!

The most difficult time was implementing the decision to close the Percarbonate Plant in May 2014 and the restructure that followed. However, as with all events, this in turn also created opportunities and the changes that resulted will hopefully provide many future benefits for the site.

It has been my pleasure to have been able to showcase the site

to a large range of visitors including the Belgian Ambassador, our local MP, a number of those who have served as Mayor of Warrington, Solvay Comex members and students from a large variety of schools and institutions. Our site even starred on the BBC Urban Wild Life programme.

The Warrington site continues to be closely i n v o l v e d w i t h i t s community and one of many activities I am very proud of is that which involves our sponsorship of Bridgewater High School designing and producing the UK Chemical Industry Association trophies for their awards night.

To interest the next g e n e r a t i o n i n t h e Chemistry of Dreams we

Paramove® tanker

(L to R) Len, Elin Sohlberg (Perstorp) & David Mowat, MP

Students from Bridgewater High School

Warrington Moving on

also work closely with Priestley College and sponsor the Solvay Science Conference. This y e a r ’ s m o s t successful event was staged in early July with a number of our employees participating and demonstrating scientific activities.


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As I walk about the site it now looks physically very different with the demolition of the H48

Plant and even greater change will be evident when the PCS Plant disappears.

Some of the exciting markets we serve are well illustrated in the latest GBU Peroxides’ video. If you’ve missed viewing it make your way onto You Tube and search Solvay – The Power of Peroxides. Well worth a watch.

We have all achieved so much in seven years and I see so many exciting opportunities on the horizon for the site’s future. I will follow the progress from afar with interest and affection.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your par t in al l the si te developments and in making this such a rewarding and memorable time for the Man from the Land Down Under.

I wish the site and Craig Barraclough, my successor, a very safe and successful future. Len SharpeSite Director, Solvay Interox Ltd

Students from Bridgewater High School

Len speaking to students

I would like to thank everyone pictured, who have

left Solvay in the last 12 months, for their

contribution to the success of Warrington during

their many years of service. I wish them all happiness

in their future ventures.

Paul Berwick 33 years

Chris Easton 36 years

Reg Humphreys 37 years

Alan Rushworth 39 years

Brian Lord 30 years

Kevin Lewis 30 years

Peter Barton 23 years

Ian Greenway 40 years

Brian Wilkinson 38 years

George Garside 43 years

Steve Beedham 41 years

Geoff Meredith 33 years

Keith Britton 38 years

Bob McDonald 24 years


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The streets of Holywell Green will benefit from a donation of colourful planters and hanging baskets, thanks to resident Judith Ackroyd who won a competition, run by Solvay Halifax, which asked local people to suggest ways to enhance their communities.

Holywell Green inspires winning entry for Solvay competition

Halifax Site Director Guillaume Peron presented Judith with a luxury food hamper for her winning idea of brightening up Holywell Green with plants and flowers. Solvay will also contribute to the cost of buying them and is currently liaising with Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council on where they should be sited.

Guillaume said: “As a major employer in Halifax, Solvay is keen to help local people enhance their communities. We really liked Judith’s idea and we look forward to helping to make it become a reality.”

New community noticeboard unveiled following Solvay Halifax donation A £1,500 donation from Solvay Halifax has enabled the erecting and unveiling of a brand new community noticeboard in West Vale. Situated in a prominent position in the park at the corner of Stainland Road and Rochdale Road, the glazed hardwood noticeboard is set to become a valuable resource to the local community.

Calderdale Councillor Marilyn Greenwood identified the need for the noticeboard and made contact with Solvay asking for their support. She said: “While we live in an internet age, with many people using social media, the importance of a noticeboard, for the benefit of the whole community, shouldn’t be underestimated. For many people in the area, this noticeboard will become an important channel through which they can keep updated on news and events, and even to find sources of support and assistance.”

Guillaume Peron, Site Director of Solvay Halifax, said: “We’re delighted to provide assistance for great local initiatives and were particularly keen to fund this community noticeboard. The location is very busy, with many people passing on a daily basis. As a result, we know that it will be well-used.”

Calderdale Councillor Malcolm James helped perform the unveiling. He said: “This impressive noticeboard, which will rapidly become an asset to all people in the locality, is built to stand the test of time. There have already been many enquiries from groups and individuals wishing to place notices.”

Halifax

(L to R) Guillaume Peron with Councillors Greenwood and James

Community


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We were delighted to welcome Solvay’s Chief Financial Officer, Karim Hajjar, to Oldbury in April for his first visit to a Solvay UK manufacturing site since joining the Group’s headquarters in Brussels in 2013.

Karim, who is a British national and a member of the Solvay Executive Committee, was joined by senior managers responsible for the Warrington, Halifax and Watford sites, and for Solvay UK as a whole.

The morning’s activit ies comprised presentations and discussions on Solvay’s business and operations in the UK. Melvin Dawes, UK Country Manager, provided an overview of Solvay UK, and this was followed by a presentation from Jean-François Berthiaume, Oldbury Site Director, who described the site’s history and current operations, including the recent launch of fertiliser protection formulations.

Len Sharpe, Site Director at Warrington, gave an overview of the site and its key products including the highly successful Paramove® – a special grade of hydrogen peroxide used

in the fish farming of salmon. This was followed by a presentation on Halifax by Site Director, Guillaume Peron, who talked about the various grades of surfactants it manufactures for use in the home and personal care markets, as well as new products currently being introduced as part of ongoing site development.

The afternoon’s events kicked off with a tour of the Oldbury site. The first stop was at the Phosphine plant where the process for the manufacture of products for the oil & gas markets was explained. This was followed by a visit to the site Maintenance Laboratory where various tools, to monitor and ensure the safety of site equipment, were shown and demonstrated. The final stop was at the Research & Innovation Laboratory where the development of new products, based on in-depth knowledge of phosphorus chemistry and its application, is taking place.

This was followed by a meeting in the main hall of the Oldbury site recreation centre, which was attended by around 140 Solvay employees. Karim gave an uplifting presentation on the

Group’s Performance and Strategy from his personal perspective and thanked all employees for their ongoing contribution to the success of the business. He also noted Solvay UK’s good record on health and safety, and emphasised the importance of continued focus on this critical area.

The day ended with a Question and Answer session which included some interesting questions and discussions on Solvay’s participation in the inspirational Solar Impulse project – the pioneering airplane which is currently flying around the world on solar power alone (see pages 12 & 13) – and on the UK’s continuing membership of the European Union.

The UK management team wishes to thank all who helped in the preparatory work and those who contributed on the day to help make the visit a success.

Solvay UK welcomes Karim Hajjar

Melvin DawesUK Country Manager &

Jean-François BerthiaumeOldbury Site Director

Martin Yule and Mark Burrows Maintenance Technicians demonstrate some of the non-destructive testing techniques used at Oldbury site to ensure the integrity of the plant equipment.

Iain Sayer Production Unit Manager explains operation of THPS plant

Oldbury


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Survey

Solvay Employee Survey: Where do we go from here?

What is employee engagement?

“Simply put, employee engagement is the degree to which employees Feel, Act and Think, in a way that represents high levels of enthusiasm and commitment to their organisation,” explains Brigitte Laurent, Global Head of Change, Engagement & Diversity (pictured). “As we are in a transformation phase, it is important to get closer to our people than ever before.”

The best engagement strategies align employees to organisational goals and focus on sustaining engagement over the long term. The survey offered an opportunity to receive direct feedback from teams on important topics such as Safety, Innovation Customer Focus, Developing People, Empowerment and Accountability... key dimensions of the Group’s Management and People models.

The survey, aimed to provide an overview of engagement at every level of the organisation, including Group, GBUs and Functions, sites and managers of teams with at least five respondents to the questionnaire.

The survey in numbers

• 56 questions• 14 dimensions highlighted• 22,359 respondents

(an 85% response rate)• more than 2,100 manager

reports released

The Solvay Employee Survey launched this year aims to help Group leadership better understand the extent to which employees appreciate Solvay as an inspiring and motivating workplace. With a Group transformation initiated just two years ago, measuring where it stands today is crucial, as experience shows that employee engagement is a strong driver of business performance.

“Building on these results, managers are able, together with their teams, to design action plans triggering change wherever relevant,” says Cecile Tandeau de Marsac, Group General Manager Human Resources.


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An overview of collective Group results

The rate of engagement, which measures the energy colleagues devote to Solvay’s success, reached 75%, a high level and an improvement of 3% compared with the previous survey conducted in 2011*. This is particularly strong in a Group that has since profoundly transformed in terms of businesses and practices. It is also interesting to highlight that 77% of colleagues would recommend Solvay as an employer and 79% say that they feel proud to work at Solvay.

The good news is that more than 3 out of 4 employees: • Say Solvay is innovative. • Say that there is good collaboration and

teamwork. • Are positive about empowerment and

accountability.

The survey also confirmed the successful deployment of Solvay’s Management Model, as concerns empowerment and accountability, as well as the development of the Group’s culture of performance. Moreover survey scores improved for customer orientation (+ 3%) and collaboration (+ 7%), and markedly for innovation (+ 16%) and excellence (+ 18%).

As part of the outcomes, the Group has also identified some areas of improvement: • Nearly 1 in 5 feel that there are opportunities

to improve recognition and rewards. • A third are not favourable about

development opportunities. • A third are not favourable about being

treated fairly.

Critical next steps

“We will now have two types of activity. One at Group level to try to develop some action plans which could help bridge some of the gaps that we have identified. But probably more important is making sure that within each unit, managers use this data to understand what’s happening,

Solvay Employee Survey: Where do we go from here?

what’s going on and, when necessary, take action to make sure that we are in a position to respond to the expectation of our teams,” said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Solvay CEO, during a Leadership call with the Group’s Senior Managers.

Next, these results will be analysed in detail at all levels of the organisation, and it is up to each manager to share the results with his or her team. This exercise will help the Group engage in a continuous improvement process, which entails feedback and being able to listen to what the teams say. Understanding how and why certain opinions were formed is crucial, and the insight should help steer Solvay’s relentless efforts towards excellence.

How will the action plans be monitored?

“All managers are being motivated to take action and spend time discussing with his or her team the feedback, in order to develop specific action plans,” explains Brigitte. Subsequently, all GBU and Function Heads will discuss their action plans for their respective entities with their supervisors. Information about these

plans will be communicated more broadly in the coming months.

“Once again, we truly thank everyone for their participation in this important and strategic Group initiative!” she concludes.

*NB: the Group perimeter has changed significantly since 2011 and the questions were worded slightly differently

Jean-Pierre ClamadieuSolvay CEO


Solar energy is an infinitely available, carbon-free energy. Roughly 20 square surfaces of 160 km x 160 km covered with solar panels could theoretically power the entire world in 2030 with zero carbon emission! Having already made major contributions to Solar Impulse, the world’s only solar-powered aircraft, how could Solvay further the advancement of this alternative energy?

“There has been a major evolution in the photovoltaic (PV) industry in recent years,” explains Robert Gresser, Director of the Sustainable Energy Platform within Advanced Innovation Office (pictured). “Before, companies manufactured solar panels designed to suit all purposes. And because they were all the same, it quickly became a commodity with producers competing to make the cheapest modules.

After studying the effectiveness of solar energy capture in locations as diverse as Shanghai, Berlin or the Mojave Desert, however, major differences were recorded. For example, sand in the atmosphere can degrade the panel, much like how sand can stick to a window and minimise the amount of light able to pass through it. In Germany, on the other hand, the climate is humid, so the panels there needed to accommodate humidity. Today the market is evolving to compensate for these differences, producing different kinds of solar panels tailored to specific segments, geographies and climates.”

Solvay and solar todaySolvay is presently on the PV market with high performance resins from Specialty Polymers, namely Solef® PVDF for the backsheet and Halar® ECTFE for the frontsheet of solar panels. Chemicals and formulations developed by GBUs Special

Chem and Novecare are used for the manufacturing process of solar panels. Thanks to Solvay’s wide breadth of technologies, however, the Group could have an even stronger ambition in new materials and solutions for photovoltaics. Research and Innovation (R&I) has launched a programme to develop new solutions that would improve the cost effectiveness and lifetime of solar panels. The programme leverages Solvay technologies in selected areas such as light management, with solutions improving the pathway of photons to the semiconductor material where it is transformed into electricity. Advanced inorganic materials as Downconverters Solar panels must capture light from the sun. Light has different wavelengths – i.e. visual light, ultraviolet (UV) and infrared. These wavelengths have varying levels of efficacy in converting light into electricity, with the visual light spectrum being the most effective.

Materials developed in Rare Earths – now within the newly launched Special Chem GBU – are today able to transform UV rays into visible light, which can be absorbed by the cell and turned into electricity. As a result, solar panels can produce 5-7% more energy, which is significant progress. R&I

Solar Energy

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Sun Rise: Solvay and its Solar Energy ambitions


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Sun Rise: Solvay and its Solar Energy ambitions

Chem and are integrating them into Specialty Polymers’ films to create new functional frontsheet films. A further step on which R&I is working is to incorporate the Downconverter material from Special Chem into these films. Our target is to get functional films that are not only lighter and more flexible than glass, but also more performant,” explains Robert. Smart Coatings For existing glass solar panels, R&I is developing smart coatings that are durable, anti-reflection, anti-soil or anti-scratch, and/or harvest 5% more energy with Downconverters in the coating.

“This is still being worked on within Group R&I, but could be potentially interesting for

is currently transferring this project to GBU Special Chem for development and commercialisation. Smart Films Glass is heavy, which is a problem as many solar panels are to be installed on the roofs of houses or industrial plants, not originally designed to support such an overweight. With today’s technology, however, it is possible to replace the (2 to 4mm) glass by (50µ) fluorinated (Halar® ECTFE) films produced by GBU Specialty Polymers, reducing dramatically (more than a half) the module global weight.

Removing glass, however, causes UV protection issues. “We’ve therefore taken the anti-UV nanomaterials from Special

GBUs such as Novecare or Solvay Energy Services,” says Robert. A new dawn In recent years, much has been reported about the deterioration of the PV market, but these reports don’t faze Robert and his R&I colleagues.

“PV is like the automotive market,” he says. “In recent years there has been industry consolidation, but the long-term outlook is growth. Overcapacity in solar panel production is declining with manufacturers focusing not on producing more, but increasing value. New materials are key to increase the cost effectiveness. The PV industry is changing. And we’ll be right there to capture its upswing.”


Innovation

From the very beginning, the Solar Impulse project for Solvay has been about risk and daring to achieve the seemingly unachievable. When the decision was made in 2004 to become the First Main Partner, Solvay was not so much concerned with financial risk as it was for potential risks related to image and reputation. “Associating our name with an early aborted initiative was a real concern,” explains Claude Michel, Head of Solvay Solar Impulse Partnership. “In our contract there was a condition that if in the next year there is no other main partner joining the project to make it financially robust, we would withdraw. Fortunately Omega arrived in May 2005.”

Flying LabFor Solvay, Solar Impulse has been an innovation and development accelerator in the fields of energy capture, energy storage, lightweight structure and equipment, thermal insulation, lubrication and nonlinear simulations.

“Weight reduction was a permanent obsession! We had to deliver the performance of each device or component at the lowest possible weight. So for example, Halar® ECTFE encapsulation film has a thickness of a hair (below 20 microns) and our thermal insulation foams have a

reduced density below 30 Kg per cubic metre,” explains Claude.

As a result, this expertise has become a real business platform for Solvay, as all car and aircraft manufacturers have introduced programmess to reduce the weight of their vehicles, and increasingly Solvay is a part of it.

“We have explained to Boeing’s executives that just as the creators of the horse and carriage were not responsible for inventing the first automobile, the aerospace industry did not invent the first zero-emission plane. The chemical industry turned a bold vision into reality! What Solvay did for Solar Impulse, it can do for you,” explains Armin Klesing, Solvay Specialty Polymers Global Business Development Manager Aerospace & Composites.

At the beginning of July, Solar Impulse successfully completed a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean, landing in Hawaii. This was the latest leg of Solar Impulse’s bid to become the first aircraft of its kind to circle the planet without consuming a single drop of fuel. As its first main partner, Solvay has been an integral part of this historical journey from the very beginning. We take a look back... and ahead to learn what’s yet to come for Solvay.

“This project has been an RD&D booster for Solvay, but not in the t radi t ional sense,” explains Claude. “The R in this is not typical academic research. We did not really create new material; we just adapted some of those we’d already developed. The first D stands for Development, finding new solutions with pre-existing materials, modifying and adapting them to the required performances. And the final D relates to Demonstration, demonstrating that our products, solutions, developments have a real value and can be trusted.”

Business boosterFor the GBUs that have been directly involved in the development of Solar Impulse, such as Specialty Polymers for PV encapsulation, lightweighting and, lubrication; and Special Chem for components for batteries and thermal insulation, this project has provided a perfect, high-profile platform to demonstrate customer solutions. There have been a number of Tech Days presented for the Automotive and Aircraft industries. And at Challenge Bibendum last autumn, a number of GBUs offering solutions for transport industries (Silica, Specialty Polymers, Engineering Plastics, Aroma Performance

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Solar Impulse: a journey against all odds

Claude Michel

Construction of Si2


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Solar Impulse: a journey against all odds

and Special Chem) could join forces under the Solvay banner as a Group offering viable and innovative sustainable mobility solutions.

Pride and reputation“Thanks to Solar Impulse, we now have two solid public images of Solvay: First, the Counsel of Physics 1911, which captures the spirit of our founder Ernest Solvay and underlines our illustrious past, and second, the Solar Impulse partnership, grounded in our values of innovation, pioneering spirit, respect for the planet and respect for people, which exemplifies our present and future,” says Claude.

“Solar Impulse is a project that we are all very proud to be associated with. When we chose Solvay’s tagline ‘asking more from chemistry’, I think that there was probably no better

demonstration that indeed chemistry can do things which have been deemed impossible,” adds Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Solvay CEO.

What’s next?“Given its positive impact for Solvay in all areas – reputation and business, as well as pride and increased commitment for the teams – we are looking for the opportunity to find a new partnership where Solvay could apply its innovation capabilities, in line with the sustainability vision of our Group: Ideas are welcome!” says Pascal Juery, Comex Member.

Learning from the Solar Impulse success, Solvay has selected the following key success factors/criteria which a new project should meet: • Consistency with Solvay’s Global company

Strategy and Vision • Scientific /technical/ technological

contribution • Fit with Solvay values of innovation,

pioneering spirit, respect for the planet, and respect for people

• Risk taking • Emotional dimension, along with a

universal dimension (geographies, cultures, ..)

• Quality of the project management, leadership

“Obviously I am not the decider of what our next ambition could be, but to promote and help to make the Solar Impulse project a success I had to work differently,” explains Claude. “Solar Impulse appealed to our collective curiosity and creative impulses, and was easily linked to potential Solvay solutions. Moreover it was a project about collaboration, highlighting common interests and helping people to see things in different ways. It inspires and importantly, it tells a story and carries a powerful message.

“With all of that in mind the next project that we would engage in as a Group certainly has big shoes to fill. Yet, I think we all agree – though Solar Impulse has landed safely in Abu Dhabi, Solvay’s journey is far from over!” Jean-Pierre Clamadieu and Bertrand Piccard

Pascal Juery

(L to R) Martin Laudenbach, Bertrand Piccard,

Ma Li, Andre Borschberg and Claude Michel

at a Solvay Customer Event in China


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By actively reviewing the portfolio of Solvay’s activities, and assessing and developing internal and external growth options, the Strategy Function contributes to ensuring that Solvay is a major player in sustainable chemistry. Strategy’s support and challenge in the development and implementation of Group’s and GBU roadmaps (the five-year strategy and business plan, also called Business Strategic Review – BSR) enables the creation of winning strategies and value creating activities.

Key FiguresNumber of Employees: 9 for Corporate Strategy team 8 for Economic & Competitive Intelligence team

Approximate Number of Employees in the Function Family: The Corporate Strategy team belongs to the “General Management” family and collaborates with Group and GBU management teams. The Economic and Competitive Intelligence team has a network of around 55 individuals in charge of market and competitive intelligence within the Marketing & Sales Family.

Mission & Strategy

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Function ID Card: Corporate Strategy (and Economic and Competitive Intelligence)

Solvay’s Strategy function has three missions:

1. To assist the Comex in the Group strategy and major projects through:

• The definition of the strategy of the Group, the development of long-term growth options and its strategic plan;

• The review of the current portfolio and of the strategic intent of each GBU;

• The assessment of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) opportunities; and

• Supporting and challenging the Group’s major projects (Innovation, CAPEX [Capital Expenditure], Par tnerships/Joint Ventures, Organisation)

2. To own the strategic planning process of the Group and contribute to the GBU roadmaps through:

• T h e d e s i g n , m a n a g e m e n t a n d optimisation of a process adapted to each GBU competitive environment;

• The support of GBUs in analysing their environment and defining the content of each BU strategic plan, its main levers and value creation projects. Particular attention is given to the implementation of major projects (M&A, Innovation, CAPEX, Organisation) with an appropriate

level of challenge and support; and • The consolidation of all GBU roadmaps

to provide a global and coherent vision of the Group to the Comex.

3. To understand the Group’s environment through:

• Providing Macroeconomic assumptions, assessing global Mega Trends (such as growing world population or digitalisation) and their effect on the Group;

• Providing financial and strategy peers

Marc Chollet General Manager

benchmarks and analysis; and • Coordinat ing the economic and

competitive intelligence community throughout the Group.

By fostering excellence in the Strategy and Intelligence communities, the Strategy function provides the Group with the ability to anticipate, interpret and rapidly identify strategic levers when facing signals of change.

“The world is increasingly globally interconnected, volatile, complex, competitive and impacted by Mega Trends. Chemistry is specialisng and consolidating. Our mission is to prepare the Group and its GBUs to make differentiating choices, to adapt or to transform themselves and to deliver tomorrow’s sustainable solutions while preserving our resources and our values. We help the Group to define and implement strategies that enable it to be a major player of the consolidation and transformation of the sector.”

Function ID Card


The Warrington Long Service Dinner is approaching on Friday 9th October, 2015 – remember to complete and return the forms if you would like to attend.

Diary Reminder

We would like to thank all colleagues who hosted the 2015 Summer School at Warrington site. This year, and for the foreseeable future, the Summer School was and will be one week

Chinese Visitors

Training & Development

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Warrington site welcomed twelve trainee operators from Solvay’s new hydrogen peroxide plant in Zhenjiang, China. Over a five week period they will be shown the operations of the hydrogen peroxide plant at Warrington by our experienced shift technicians.

We extend a warm welcome to them all and hope that their training visit is enjoyable and successful.

Wayne AllenTechnical & Engineering Manager

concentrating on the laboratory, plant and maintenance departments. The constant theme of the visit was personal and process safety and the students were also given an appreciation of CV writing

(L to R) Thomas Hemming, Matthew Tarver, Ben

Sackey, James Ireland and inset Alex UffendellSummer School and interview techniques to help them with their university and job applications for the future.

Jean Allen HR Manager


and Bertrand Piccard as they attempt to circumnavigate the globe in Solar Impulse, the zero energy aeroplane.

Warrington Mayor, Councillor Geoff Settle, and Mayoress Jean, introduced the students to their fundraising friend, Hashtag Teddy George, and

encouraged them to follow the bear’s Facebook posts in

order to see what he gets up to

Loca

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Education

Solvay Science Conference

On the hottest day of the year so far, students from four Warrington schools ignored the high temperatures to meet the challenges set by Priestley College tutors. Solvay once again teamed up with the 6th Form College to launch our 4th Science Conference. More than 65 students from Sir Thomas Boteler High School, St Gregory’s High School, Cardinal Newman High School and Beamont Collegiate Academy attended the conference.

This year the conference, designed to inspire scientists of the future, was organised by

Steve Pennington. Shahida Khanam, who organised previous events, returned

from maternity leave just in time for the conference and was delighted to

be able to lead some hands-on laboratory activities this year.

The conference was opened by Priestley College Principal,

Matthew Grant who encouraged the students to

participate enthusiastically in the day’s activities in order

to gain full value from this unique opportunity. Martin Gr i f f i ths, Solvay HSEQ Manager, welcomed the students and explained that Solvay sponsored the conference in order to promote the values of founder, Ernest Solvay, who had always been proud to be a scientist. Martin also recommended the students follow the on-going adventures of André Borschberg

Steve Pennington and

Solvay’s Catherine Andrews

Mayor and

Mayoress with

the Solvay team


Local

during his year in office. Councillor Settle, who has had a successful career as a Software Engineer, explained to the students the opportunities that awaited the scientists of the future in a progressive town such as Warrington.

This year’s conference featured the biggest programme yet, with students participating in a variety of activities in the college laboratories as well as a maths challenge and a tour of the college’s facilities.

The students were challenged to convert starch into a biodegradable polymer in the chemistry laboratory, design and build a water wheel in the physics laboratory which could achieve the most rotations from a set volume of water and, finally, design and produce a range of 3 dimensional shapes from Perstorp’s “Capa”

thermoplastic. The last activity was led by our old friend George Oliver, who continues to be a champion of the potential applications of this “magic plastic”.

After another successful conference, Principal Matthew Grant said: “It was an opportunity for us and for the pupils to interact with local industry. We hope those who took part will be inspired to pursue science in future either in education or in a career.”

(L to R) George with

Len Sharpe and Elin

Sohlberg

(L to R) teachers

Shahida Khanam and

Barbara Schofield

Solvay’s Lauren

Dunn with statue

of Joseph Priestley


LeaversAs a result of the joint venture between Solvay and INEOS to create INOVYN, Brian Cosgrove, Maria Bojczuk, Sandra Langdon and Gill Denaro will be leaving Warrington site to take up new challenges at INOVYN in Runcorn. We wish them all well in their new venture.

(L to R) Sandra and Gill

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Charity and Community

On Saturday 27th June, Lillian (9) and Harriet (8) Tait climbed Britain’s 2nd largest mountain, Mount Snowdon, with other members of the Hillcliffe Brownie unit, to raise money for the local Warrington children’s charity, Active Hope. The girls walked over 10 miles and climbed 1,085 metres in 6 hours and 15 minutes. When

Halifax’s Andy Connell plans to complete a 100-mile charity bike ride in August to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society.

Andy will take part in Prudential RideLondon – an annual two-day festival of cycling – with his friend, Jimmy Graham and they hope to raise £2,000.

they reached the top, they unfurled the Solvay flag and then took out their copies of Solvay Connects for a quick read, before escaping the cloud and starting their descent!

Through their fundraising efforts, Lillian and Harriet have raised over £400 for Active Hope,

“Our friend Olivia (in pink) was very interested to learn about Solar Impulse when

we got our Solvay Connects magazines out at the top of the mountain.” – Harriet

“Thank you Solvay for sponsoring us”. – Lillian & Harriet

"A never-ending bag of Haribos helped us get to the top and back down again!" – Lillian

including a very generous donation of £100 made by Solvay. Active Hope will use the money to provide life-changing opportunities for some of the area’s most deprived youngsters. To find out more, visit their website:http://www.activehope.org/

Katy Tait

Neil Simpson alerted us to a Flickr site containing some wonderful black and white photos of the Warrington site back in the 1950s. The photos were compiled by Keith Smith, whose father used to work for Laporte, who owned the site when it was opened. Bob McDonald invited Keith to have a look around the site and see it in the present day. Keith enjoyed looking around and has been able to edit his captions, linking old photograph locations to their current role on site. If you want to look at Keith’s photos, search for “Laporte Chemicals Warrington” on Flickr.com

(L to R) Keith

and Bob


Warrington

Local

Solvay People

New Starters

Long Service

Anne Farrell Occupational Health

Nurse

Ross Stalker Key Account Manager,

Specialty Polymers

Lostock

Production Manager, Ged Cassidy (right), presented Long Service

Certificates to Production Leader, Eric Southern – 30 years (above)

and to Process Engineer, Tony Brookes – 45 years (below)

Charles Hull Tankfarm Operator

Lauren Dunn Environmental

Trainee

Majorie Burel Engineering Trainee

Halifax

Congratulations to Ian Mclean (pictured), Peter Heptinstall and Michael Thrippleton who have all

served 25 years

Congratulations to Robert & Charlotte Fitzsimons on the safe arrival of Sebastian Jacob G i b s o n F i t z s i m o n s o n Saturday 20th June 2015.

Gordon (left) was presented

with his retirement scroll by

Tom Dutton, HSE Director

Gordon Dennison, Senior HSE Engineer, Oldbury, retired in June after nearly 18 years’ service. We all wish Gordon well on this new stage of his life.


Solvay is pleased to raise awareness for Breast Cancer Care

Summeron a stick

Order your FREE Strawberry Tea Starter Kit now

Text STICKS to 70500 or go tobreastcancercare.org.uk/sticks

• Recipes• Invitations

• Donation box• Games

The Strawberry Tea

The Strawberry Tea

Registered charity in England and Wales 1017658 Registered charity in Scotland SC038104

Breathe out. Summer’s here. Gather your friends and do something lovely together with strawberries.

Here’s something quick and easy to bring a burst of colour and prettiness to a summer lunch with friends. Marry strawberries with lots of different summer tastes – on a stick. Sophisticated and fun. Sweet and savoury. Then present them on a board, or like a bouquet on half a deep green watermelon, and watch the adults smile and the kids squeal with delight.

Strawberry sticks to tryTake whole juicy red strawberries, and try sliding them on a stick with:

• grilled halloumi and mint• little balls of goats cheese and basil• sliced kiwi, drizzled with balsamic glaze• a twist of Serrano ham and melon• a slice of peach, rolled in cinnamon sugar• marshmallows• cubes of sponge cake dipped in chocolate.

Perfect for The Strawberry Tea for Breast Cancer CareIn gardens, on picnics, at sunny kitchen tables, even at work – people all over the country will be having a Strawberry Tea for Breast Cancer Care this summer.

Some will be simple, some fabulously fancy, some will be big, others beautifully small. Whether you raise £25 or £250 you’ll be doing something lovely with strawberries to help people facing breast cancer.

Could there be a better excuse for getting together?

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