One of the UK’s leading chemical companies, Airedale Chemical has appointed Chris Chadwick as its new managing director.
Grandson of the founder, the late Brian Chadwick, and nephew of former MD Richard Chadwick, Chris (33) is the youngest leader in the company’s 43-year history, and promises to open a ‘new chapter’ for the company.
Richard Chadwick moves into the role of group chairman as Chris, who has spent the past 15 years embroiled in the Yorkshire-based business, heralds a new era in the company’s fourth decade as a leading manufacturer and supplier of speciality chemicals.
Chris Chadwick commented: “Airedale Chemical has gone through an intense growth plan over the past five years and my plan is to consolidate our capital expenditure spend and maximise the infrastructure and capabilities we have put in place.
“As well as continuing to grow organically and build on the hard work and success of my grandfather and uncle, I’m also looking to open a new chapter for the company.
He continued: “I’ll be developing our speciality chemical offering and proactively entering new markets to continue our diversification strategy, while keeping a key focus on developing our community relations and support programme.
“We began implementing our current five-year growth plan in 2015 which I will continue to drive, keeping up the momentum set by my uncle, who led the company’s greatest period of growth increasing turnover from £8m to £42m.”
The new MD began his career in the company’s chemical blending facility aged 18. He experienced working life in every department of Airedale Chemical before discovering his talent for sales and becoming the company’s top performing salesperson within four years, leading to his role as sales director.
He added: “Our current five year sales strategy is something I’m extremely passionate about so I’ll be continuing my sales director duties in this timeframe. We will then be looking at further investment to continue growing the company.
“I know there are challenging times ahead for all UK businesses, but I firmly believe that by continuing to do what we do best – deliver quality products with excellent customer service – we’ll achieve our goals and thrive in this highly competitive industry.”
