CHEMICAL produced in Wales is being used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world to identify smuggled stashes of cocaine.

14:32 CHEMICAL produced in Wales is being used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world to identify smuggled stashes of cocaine. 0 Comments

CHEMICAL produced in Wales is being used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world to identify smuggled stashes of cocaine.Three friends who run Celtic Chemicals, which was founded by their fathers in 1979, sell their £1,000-a-kilo cobalt-based material for use in detection kits which turn substances containing cocaine bright blue.Customers now include NIK Public Safety, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of drug detection technology.The kits are used by British police forces and US border patrols.Bridgend-based Celtic Chemicals also supply a nitrate-based solution which has become increasingly sought-after as a result of its use in the manufacture of SatNav devices and mobile phones.The company also works with Alzheim, a Powys-based outfit which uses daffodil extracts to delay the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.Celtic Chemicals has doubled its turnover in the past five years as demand for its specialist products rises.It has just announced a £20,000 investment in equipment which will allow staff to analyse the purity of chemicals with new accuracy.The company was founded by Ian Woolcock, Ray Houlton and Murray Donald, and is now run by their sons Rhys, Simon and Ben.Mr Woolcock said that being part of a multi-family company was “an interesting situation” but added: “I suppose the most unusual thing is we all still get on.”
Many hi-tech companies are developed to be sold to larger corporations, but this is not an immediate goal for the team.Mr Woolcock said: “We are in charge of our own destiny to a degree. I think the overriding feeling is it’s a positive place to be.”But he added: “It depends how big the cheque is.”
The new equipment, he said, would allow the company to manufacture greater volumes in a shorter time.He added: “This will also safeguard nine permanent jobs.” Celtic Chemicals was launched to manufacture and process organic metallic salts, widely used in a range of industries such as electronics, food, pharmaceuticals and metal finishing.
The company moved to Kenfig Industrial Estate at Bridgend three years ago when it was restructured with help from the former Welsh Development Agency. The recent £20,000 funding comes from the Assembly Government.Mr Woolcock was confident the company could continue to compete with rivals in China and the Far East.A key advantage, he said, was the speed at which it is able to meet orders. It is often able to develop products within one to two weeks.Shipping costs also allow Celtic Chemicals to compete with low-cost economies, he argued, saying: “If you’re in the UK, you can’t buy 100 kilos of a product from China. The freight costs would outweigh any cost advantage.”The company continues to look for new potential projects and collaborations on its doorstep.“We try and keep things within Wales if we can,” he said. “We’ve always got lots of irons in lots of fires.”Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, said Celtic Chemicals was an example of the many small but highly innovative companies in Wales that had a global reach.“It’s great news to hear that products developed by a Welsh SME [small to medium company] are having such an impact on the fight against drug smuggling around the world.“It’s also good to hear that Celtic Chemicals has doubled its turnover and with support from the Assembly Government invested in state-of-the-art equipment that will help boost business prospects further.”The company is able to supply kosher and halal-friendly trace elements for the nutrition sector, as well allergen-free products.Its chemicals are also used in metal-finishing processes and in capacitor production.
The company serves the pharmaceutical and personal care markets by supplying pure sources of minerals.Laboratory supplies such as ammonium and zinc are provided by the kilo, and the team have developed a niche with ceramic colours.Inorganic copper, cobalt and nickel are all provided for the colouring of glazes.