Long Service Award

We understand that one of our greatest assets is our people. That’s why we celebrate their achievements and milestones.

Paul Cole, one of our maintenance engineers, recently celebrated 25 years of service at Hubron!

As a reward for his service, Paul chose a gold coin. Paul commented on the receipt of his 25-year award: “I work in a really good, friendly environment and I have stayed for so long due to the great working relationship within the maintenance and PMU team.”

Paul started as a maintenance engineer with Hubron in September 1996 and has grown from an electrically bias engineer into a valued multiskilled shift maintenance engineer over his 25 years.

His knowledge and experience of the Hubron plant supports the team in ensuring black masterbatch products flow off production lines 24hrs a day 5 days a week.

Paul enjoys maintaining his various cars and caravan holidays with the family when not fixing plastics processing equipment.

Congratulations Paul on your achievement and thank you for your dedication!

 

Hubron International Appoints Fergus McKendrick as New Managing Director

Leading supplier of black masterbatch assigns Sales Director as new MD

Following the retirement of MD Keith Simms, Hubron International has appointed Sales Director, Fergus McKendrick, to the role.

Joining Hubron International in 1994, Simms has occupied the role of MD since 2004. During that time the company has seen a considerable turnaround and growth throughout Europe.

Fergus McKendrick succeeded Simms and assumed responsibilities on 1st January 2022.

 

 

Commenting on the appointment, OBG COO, Phil Didlick:

“We firstly would like to thank Keith Simms for his service to Hubron International. When OBG acquired Hubron in 2004, the business was in administration and today it is one of the strongest and most consistent performing businesses in the group portfolio. Keith has been absolutely pivotal to the transformation of the business and thoroughly deserves his retirement.

“We are excited to be welcoming Fergus McKendrick into the role of MD. OBG have committed to a significant investment in the Hubron International business over the next two years and we feel confident Fergus will successfully steer Hubron International on to a new level of performance driven by increased capacity and geographic coverage.”

McKendrick has 25 years experience within the Chemicals Industry, working at all levels, including many years at company board and senior director levels. He has been the Sales Director at Hubron International since 2018.

Before joining Hubron, McKendrick was Divisional Commercial Director at Mel Chemicals and, prior to this, Regional Business Director (EMEA) at Rhodia. Based in Manchester, McKendrick will guide the growth plans for Hubron International globally.

Fergus McKendrick had to say about his appointment:

“Hubron International has a proud history and I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead us into our exciting future. I am confident that we can continue to build on our success and drive our strategic vision forward.”

 

About Hubron International

Hubron International was established in 1934, has been a part of OBG since 2004, and has grown to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of black masterbatch. Over 85% of masterbatch production is exported through a world-wide network of distribution partners, serving the demands of polymer industries such as film, sheet, pipe, cable & fibre extrusion, moulding and technical compounding across the world.

 

Working with Graphene and Joining The Graphene Council

At Hubron, we’ve established ourselves as one of the world’s leading providers of black masterbatch in over 85 years of operation.

We’re always looking at ways to move forward, and in recent years we’ve been working closely with graphene producers to develop further uses for the material, i.e. for improved black masterbatches and conductive compounds.

Joining The Graphene Council

Hubron recently became a corporate member of The Graphene Council, which is the world’s largest community for graphene researchers, developers, producers, academics and scientists.

And to commemorate this occasion, our Technical Manager Robert Laurent had a chat with The Graphene Council’s Dexter Johnson, to discuss how we started working with graphene and what we’re aiming to achieve with the material in the future.

Let’s take a look at what was discussed…

How Hubron first got involved with graphene

With regard to Hubron starting to look into using graphene in our formulations, Robert told Dexter that our first experiments with the material began back in 2014.

Initially focusing on nanotubes that evolved into graphenes, we continued to work closely with our suppliers, with Robert adding:

“Commercially it is still relatively new, but 2020 saw the first real volume go through our plant.

“These volumes are still small compared to our typical run sizes, however our pipeline of opportunities is gathering pace.”

How working with graphene has been so far

Working with new materials can present different issues and challenges, and each different type of graphene can perform in significantly different ways.

While the first experiments we carried out with graphene were more about testing compatibility with the host resin, this has progressed into the optimisation of dispersion, loading, performance and scaling up.

“It is essential to identify the right material for the polymer and application,” said Robert, “and learning how to safely handle, feed, process and disperse these materials has also been key.”

How graphene compounds are processed at Hubron

“We are a masterbatch/compounder of graphene materials,” noted Robert. “and we have several technologies available to us for the processing of 2D materials.”

Ease of handling and dosing into their process are just two of the benefits our customers will see from our masterbatches and compounds.

Robert went on to say: “A fully-dispersed, compatible material in a concentrate form will aid the full exploitation of property enhancements.”

The appeal of graphene-enabled products in both niche and broader markets

When it comes to niche vs broad appeal of graphene-based products, Robert stated that “The broad spectrum of property enhancement possibly lends itself to a more comprehensive approach.”

At Hubron, our ultimate goal is to always add value to our customers, and Robert also told The Graphene Council that he thinks there’ll be a place for more ‘off the shelf’ composites and bespoke, customer-focused solutions.

“Hubron’s focus is on being a solutions provider,” he continued, “and it is the belief that 2D materials will be key in the thermoplastic arena for providing solutions to challenges such as light-weighting and sustainability.”

Unique selling points of our graphene composites

We want our customers to take advantage of the potential of these materials by providing them with cost-effective, functional, and fully-dispersed masterbatch and compounds.

“We can offer bespoke solutions, and we will work with our clients to achieve their objectives,” said Robert, “through the learnings of our work and the investments we have made and will continue to make.”

Noting that there’s a current lack of awareness among end-users, Robert went on to say that here at Hubron, we can help to bridge the knowledge gap, and guide our customers in terms of how to use these materials and help them to realise the potential benefits.

Ongoing strategy for commercialising graphene composites

Our customers’ needs are always our top priority at Hubron, and through technical advancements in collaboration with our customers, we’ll be able to offer them sustained value.

“Our strategy is to maintain a sharp focus on developing and delivering niche and customised products that are differentiated, solve major customer problems, and offer compelling value propositions,” concluded Robert.

Benelux Distribution

We are pleased to announce that, The Masterbatch Company has been appointed to represent Hubron International in the Benelux

New Business Manager

Hubron International is pleased to welcome Mr Steven Horrocks to the team. Steve joins Hubron on 1st December as Business Manager with specific responsibility for continuing & accelerating our growth strategy in North America. Previous to joining Hubron, Steve was with PolyOne/ ColorMatrix.

Long Service Award

Graham Riley – long service

Graham joined the company on 20/2/1976 just over 40 years ago.

Graham started carrying out several jobs throughout the rubber factory. He progressed through stores control into the old PMU with the Farrel mixers. Graham moved into decanting as the Robot packing line was starting a 2 shift system, and has remained in this area for the last 18years,

Graham is pictured receiving his Long Service award from Hubron`s Operational & Technical Director Craig Hodgkinson.

graham riley

Retirement announcements

Ken Court – Retirement

Ken started with Hubron on 29/3/2005 almost 13 years ago to the day.

Ken has worked all his time at Hubron as a process operator in the PMU. Where he fitted well with the shift teams.

Ken joined us from a company called Jackdaw Polymer in Littleborough, with experience in processing Nylon materials. Ken was pivotal in Hubron`s entrance into processing Nylon materials at the plant as he had the experience of running a strand line on these materials.

Ken has been working part time through 2017 in a job share with Noel and kindly agreed to stay on for an extra 3 months at Christmas to cover us while we trained a replacement.

Ken has chosen to retire early to pursue his hobbies which include motor sports.

 

Noel Stewart – Retirement

Noel joined the company on 24/4/1979 almost 39 years ago.

Noel started in the rubber presses where he worked for a number of years before being one of the first employees to become a process operator in charge of CPs (Farrel mixer) in the old PMU.

Noel is known for good operating skill and his contribution towards putting ideas forward for improvements.

Again Noel has been working part time through 2017 in a job share with Ken and kindly agreed to stay on for an extra 3 months at Christmas to cover us while we trained a replacement. Noel is slightly past his state retirement date and is now finishing to take a well-earned rest.

Ken and Noel are pictured below with Hubron`s Operational & Technical Director Craig Hodgkinson.

retirement

Exhibitions 2017 Update

A reminder that Hubron International will be joining our German Distributor MLPLASTICS at Fukama this year in Hall B5 stand 5215 from the 17-21st October 2017

We look forward to meeting you there!

Hubron International Continue to look towards the future with on-going developments in the use of Graphene in thermoplastics.

Hubron International Continue to look towards the future with on-going developments in the use of Graphene in thermoplastics.

This includes constant evaluation of the different types of Graphene currently available including different densities and surface chemistry modified grades and assessing the different physical, electrical, thermal and chemical characteristics of the Graphene in the final thermoplastic material.

This kind of development enables Hubron International to understand Customer and Market demands in this fast growing specialised sector whilst continuing to push the technical boundaries of the Graphene Thermoplastic market.

Kunststoffen 2017

Hubron will be attending Kunststoffen 2017.  You can meet us along with our distribution partner Brenntag Benelux Polymers on stand 262.

Kunststoffen-2017

Hubron at FIP Solution Plastique.

FIP

Hubron (International) is proud to be exhibiting this year at FIP Solution Plastique, the leading French plastics trade show in partnership with Hubron’s French distribution partner Fournier Thermoplastiques.

Fournier Thermoplastiques, part of the Radici Group, is a leading plastics distributor to the polymer and petrochemical industries in France.

Running from 13th June to 15th June, FIP Solution Plastique, now celebrating its 30th year, promises to be an excellent event with 150 exhibitors attending the three day show representing every aspect of the plastics industry.

FIP Solution Plastique gives Hubron International the opportunity to build on recent successes in the French market

“With 13 sites throughout France, Fourier Thermoplastiques is a valued partner to our business”, Dominic Carroll, Business Manager at Hubron explained. “We are pleased to have Fournier Thermoplastiques as our distribution partner in France. This year’s FIP Solution Plastique promises, with the help of Fournier Thermoplastiques, to be very positive for Hubron, where we will have the opportunity to introduce ourselves to a broad range of companies in one of the key manufacturing countries in Europe.”

Hubron Focus on Food & Drug Administration

Hubron International is experiencing strong sales growth with its FDA compliant range Of Masterbatches , in particular its PEB3321 which is performing well in the Coex- film manufacturing sector for applications such as milk pouches and food packaging around the World.

For a full list of FDA compliant grades available please use the product listing on our website our call our sales team on +44 (0) 161 681 2691 or e mail info@hubron.com