At the 2018 Knowsley Business Awards ceremony, held on 22nd November, Colloids Limited was chosen as the 2018 ‘Large Business of the Year’ from the three shortlisted entries. Celebrating its 16th year, Knowsley Business Awards has become an established annual business and social occasion to recognise and celebrate successful organisations and individuals that are helping to drive the ongoing economic growth in the North West of England. This year was the biggest event to date, attracting 850 guests from across the region. A total of 13 business awards were handed out on the night, with a further 10 ‘Highly Commended’ accolades also being presented. The glittering ‘Italian Masquerade’ Venetian themed evening took place in a giant marquee erected in the grounds of the Knowsley Safari Park.
The award was presented to the Colloids team by John Irving, CEO of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which was the Large Business category sponsor. Colloids’ CEO Russell Livesey commented: “We are all absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award and feel very honoured. It has been a great morale booster for the entire Colloids team, whose consistent hard work, dedication and commitment makes the business so successful.” Established in 1967, Colloids Ltd. has been making polymer masterbatches in the North west for over 50 years and is firmly established in Knowsley as a leading multinational manufacturer and global exporter of high quality coloured and black speciality compounds, additives and bespoke masterbatches which provide innovative solutions for a wide range of polymers, processes, markets and applications. Today, Colloids has 170 employees, including three apprentices, across its two UK sites, as well as sales, technical and production facilities in China.
A key factor from a list of eight criteria which convinced the judging panel was the successful business growth journey of Colloids over the last decade, starting from an annual turnover of under £16M to reaching £45M in 2017 and exceeding £50M in the second half of 2018, achieved by growing both UK and international sales. Continued export sales growth, particularly in Europe, The Middle East, USA and Asia, has been a major success for the business, with an ongoing focus and future investments aimed at further growth in export sales.
Another key factor that helped Colloids to secure the award has been the successful running of the business at a sustainable level of profitability for many years. This has enabled the senior management of Colloids to make ongoing investments in research and development (R & D) facilities, new technologies, production equipment and highly skilled people. In 2017, major capital expenditure investments of more than £600,000 were made, with a further £800,000 in capital projects being spent by Colloids this year. Key recent investments at the main Knowsley UK production site and head office have included the construction of a brand new warehouse and logistics facilities, installing new ‘state-of-the-art’ production machinery and systems, as well adding new R & D laboratory equipment to further expand in-house new product development capabilities.
Colloids Group is part of the multinational Tosaf, with sister companies in Germany, Turkey, The Netherlands, Israel and the USA. All manufacturing sites meet ISO 9001 quality standards, with Colloids Knowsley having automotive industry IATF 16949: 2016 accreditations, along with ISO 14001: 2015 and ISO 9001: 2015. Colloids supplies manufacturers in the automotive, agricultural, pipe, E & E, construction, geosynthetics, and consumer markets, as well as polymer producers and compounders worldwide.