As 2025 commences, FIS Chemicals chief executive officer Kenny Woods reflects on a busy and exciting 2024 for the Bucksburn-based chemicals manufacturer and supplier.
The three words Kenny Woods would use to describe 2024 are ‘sustainable', 'agile' and 'reliable’.
He adds: "We've made great strides on our sustainability and environmental journey, we've responded well to challenges and opportunities, and, crucially, we've continued to deliver smarter chemistry for our valued customers."
Growth, acquisition and partnership
FIS Chemicals achieved notable growth in 2024 by focusing on market diversification and geographical expansion.
The company successfully entered new international markets such as the USA, Australia and Norway, as well as emerging economies such as Guyana, where there is a rising demand for sustainable and innovative chemical solutions.
Additionally, through targeted acquisition, FIS became the sole manufacturer of Blue Steel Primer (also known as Navy Steel Rust Converter) and established a strategic partnership with Quaker Houghton, whose complementary product lines enable FIS to achieve greater market share and expand their product portfolio.
International manufacturing
2024 was also notable for FIS as they established new manufacturing capability in North America and Middle East, which has been a significant development in terms of FIS Chemicals’ ability to support customers across the globe.
FIS Chemicals first began manufacturing in the Houston area in late 2023 - enabling the company to react quickly to customers' needs and slash lead times, whilst reducing their inventory costs.
Being close to customers’ end market has also resulted in the elimination of CO2 emissions from shipping the final product from the UK to the USA and bulk collections have removed all packaging and waste.
FIS Chemicals hopes to use this US manufacturing facility to add additional customers, regions (LATAM, Canada) and expand their product offering. The success of FIS in the USA has increased the team’s confidence and appetite to establish additional international manufacturing facilities.
This expansion doesn’t come at the cost of the products it manufactures, however, and Kenny adds: "In everything we do, FIS must ensure the quality, performance and environmental profile of products are maintained - this is vital for both reputation and the success of our customers’ operations."
Research, optimism and hard work
Before this investment, local market knowledge and understanding the potential customer base has been hugely important. When preparing to establish manufacturing in North America, the team visited and spoke to an array of contacts, customers, potential manufacturers and suppliers in the region to ensure they chose the right location and found a partner whom they could really trust.
Combined with a well-planned FIS sales presence and marketing strategy, this forms the fundamentals of growing in global markets like these.
Venturing into new markets always carries an element of risk, but the company is determined to not let caution or concern impede their growth. Kenny emphasises this, saying: "We must have optimism, confidence and good old-fashioned hard work at every stage to ensure success."