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The Institute of Measurement and Control – Britain’s foremost professional body for the automation industry – has appointed CEL Senior Project Manager Dr Beverley Stanford as its new president.

Beverley has an MSc in Control Engineering, and completed her PhD on Flow measurement of highly radioactive slurries using cross correlation flow measurement techniques in 1980. She joined Courtaulds Engineering (later to become CEL) in 1979 as an instrumentation and control engineer.

In the last two years, Beverley has been responsible for a range of projects involving CHP, biofuels, recoveries from processing domestic waste, fuel cell technologies, the refurbishment of a Grade 2 listed building, and master planning for the growing, packing and distribution of soft fruit, as well as providing procedural advice and an auditing function for a major project being implemented by a client.

CEL’s China business to date is mostly to assist clients build plants involved in coatings and chemicals. A good example of this is a plant now nearing completion in the Suzhou New District which CEL is project-managing for the Dutch company, Stahl. The factory will make coatings – acrylics, pigments and lacquer emulsions – for leather and other substrates.

Left to right: Simon Maguire, Gerry Shen, Bob Johnson (director of engineering at Stahl),
William Zhu (site manager), Alfredo Aymami (general manager, Stahl) and Glyn Ginsburg

The new factory will be the most advanced plant of any that Stahl has built anywhere in the world. It also happens to be the first plant on which CEL has been contracted to work for Stahl. The rationale is very simple: Stahl already imports the coatings into China; the new facility provides the opportunity to provide existing and new customers with locally manufactured products.

Thinking ahead, Stahl has taken more than enough space to allow room for expansion, based on a market projection that more and more people will wear leather shoes in China and will be wanting to wear shoes that last (which is achieved by the shoes’ coatings). Stahl is also considering a second investment in a technical service centre, which will provide a local service to customers to help them obtain the most benefit from Stahl’s advanced polymer products.

CEL’s senior project manager, Glyn Ginsburg, is managing the project. Having worked in 28 countries and successfully completed six projects in China, there is little that he has not had to cope with in his time. A remarkable feature of the Stahl plant is that it will have been built and equipped from start to finish within a year.

CEL is looking to the next phase of its own expansion. It has established a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), upgrading from a foreign representative office, and has taken new office space in the Xujiahui area of Shanghai. Simon Maguire moved to Shanghai last September to head the China business, after 10 years of flying in and out of the city.

Being a wholly foreign-owned Chinese company enables CEL, for the first time, to receive orders in renminbi, directly take on staff in China and be taxed like a local company. The aim is to have full localisation within the foreseeable future: CEL in China will then be run by local management, have local staff and fulfill local contracts. “We want our China business to be self-managing and self-sustaining, providing a high-quality local service,” says Simon Maguire. The signs are encouraging: the business is growing strongly and the WFOE is well on course to be profitable within its first year.

Furthermore, from a strategic point of view, the change in legal status also paves the way for the company to expand into the local market. “We are looking to the future, not just first builds, but also subsequent expansions and this means we have to have a greater workable presence on the ground,” says Richard Skidmore.

Read the entire article from China-Britain Business Review.

The UK affiliate of ISPE held its Annual Awards dinner in November at the Holiday Inn, Stratford upon Avon, this year and amongst the award winners, Roger Shillitoe collected the award on behalf of CEL International for Vendor Significant Contribution. This recognizes the work Roger has done and the support CEL have given over the past four years while he has been chairman of the Central region of the UK affiliate of ISPE.

Under Roger’s chairmanship, the UK Central Region has continued the work of ISPE such as arranging seminars, visits, training and network events for members and non-members alike. In particular the award recognized Roger’s passion for a series of training seminars, aimed at newcomers to the industry: the Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Industry series of evening seminars, which has now been rolled out to the other regions in the UK. He has personally given a number of seminars and arranged for other leading industry speakers to assist.

ISPE, the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, is a global, not-for-profit membership organization that provides education, training, and technical publications to pharmaceutical manufacturing professionals.

All technical areas of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry are represented among the ISPE membership. ISPE enables members to develop contacts around the globe by providing a forum for beneficial interaction with government officials, contractors, vendor representatives, academics and students, all in the interest of offering practical solutions to everyday situations.

Tyrolysis Ltd is a dynamic new company created to recycle used tyres, employing a novel process they have developed themselves. The highly efficient pyrolysis allows complete recycling into useful products and has two special features: more than 40% more oil is recovered, and a dry friable solid carbon char is generated.

CEL has been selected to undertake a feasibility study involving scale-up, design development and cost estimate for a full-scale commercial plant, which will process 50 tons of tyres per day.

New legislation coming into force in June 2006 means tyres can no longer be sent to landfill and must be processed. Currently, an estimated 300,000 tons of scrap tyres are produced each year.

Tyrolysis is one of a number of clients with whom CEL is working on projects involving recycling or reprocessing of waste materials or with environmental considerations, including Estech, Johnson Matthey and British Sugar.

In March 2003 CEL International Limited (CEL) was appointed by Cadbury Trebor Bassett (CTB) to project manage the implementation of the essential external fabric repairs of the Girls’ Baths on the Cadbury’s site at Bournville, UK.

The building had been originally constructed in 1904 and had been in use as a swimming pool until the early 1980s, apart from a brief period during the 1940s as a materials store, and is located in a very prominent position on the corner of the main access road into the Bournville site and the public highway. Key to the success of project was to complete the work without disruption to the existing operations on the rest of the site.

The scope of this work included removal of asbestos, repair of the external fabric of the building, prevention of any further decay and making the building weathertight and structurally sound. As part of the overall project management, CEL were responsible for managing and control of the design team and main contractor, health and safety including CDM regulations and interfaces with CTB site operations.

The project was undertaken in two phases: Phase 1 – opening up and inspections to identify the extent of the required repairs – and Phase 2 – completion of the repairs.

The project, which was completed in May 2005, was highly successful, meeting safety, quality, cost and programme targets.

The implementation strategy for the project included the use of an integrated project team, the team being made up of members from CEL, CTB, Rodney Melville and Partners – architects, Hancock Wheeldon and Ascough – structural engineers, John Austin and Partners – quantity surveyors, and William Sapcote and Sons Limited – main contractor, using the principles of ‘Alliancing and Partnerships’ to collectively ‘own’ the project. The team made the best use of the core competencies and skills from the various groups to ensure optimum delivery of the project based upon a clear definition of objectives and critical success factors at the outset and early identification of potential challenges and developing action plans to overcome these issues as the project progressed.

CEL International are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Kelly as Business Manager Ireland.

Tom, who is based in Cork, will spearhead the continued development of CEL International’s project engineering services and high value added consultancy business in Ireland with primary focus on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Tom joins CEL International from FMC Biopolymer where for four years he was Key Account Manager responsible for the UK and Ireland. Tom is a qualified chemical engineer and also has a business degree. He has over 20 years’ pharmaceutical industry experience and has been responsible in both operational and management capacities covering project implementation and manufacturing roles within FMC Biopolymer.

CEL International, a leading-edge project management and consultancy company based in Coventry UK, believe the time is now right to develop their presence in the growing pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector in Ireland.

Tom comments: “I am delighted to be joining CEL International at this particularly exciting period in the company’s development. I believe that the combination of factors that have led to CEL International’s recent success in both the UK and Ireland, with our high quality client base, will enable CEL International’s office in Ireland to contribute significantly to the next period of CEL growth.”

In May 2004 CEL International Limited (CEL) was appointed by Acetate Products Limited (APL) to project manage and implement their Filter Tow Expansion project at Spondon, Derby.

The expansion included the installation of four new spinning lines into APL’s existing acetate tow spinning facility along with associated crimper, conditioner, plaiter and baling press plant. The project also included the expansion of existing solvent recovery and dope preparation plants. CEL’s responsibilities included design, procurement, construction and pre-commissioning. CEL were also responsible for the design and supply of the spinning machines and the plaiters through their Process Machinery division which, in conjunction with APL, implemented innovation resulting in significant noise reductions, lower capital costs and simplified construction.

Acetate Products Limited are a leading manufacturer of diacetate flake, which is used in the manufacture of acetate film and acetate filter tow. Filter tow is used in the manufacture of filter tips for cigarettes.

This project, which was completed in Quarter 2 2005, was highly successful: delivered under budget and four weeks early.

The implementation strategy for the project included the use of an integrated project team made up of members of CEL and APL’s Engineering and Control Systems personnel. This team made the best use of core competencies and skills from the various groups ensuring optimum delivery of the project. Through a series of team building events the team where able to clearly define project objectives and critical success factors as well as identify potential challenges, developing action plans to overcome these challenges. A team identity was developed (the LEAP Team – Line Expansion Active Project) and a philosophy for boosting morale within the team was used. This philosophy, known as FISH!, used four simple principles: Play (enjoying the project), Be Present (supporting each other), Choose Your Attitude (being positive, not negative), and Make Their Day (being encouraging to other team members).

The project team also used the ECI ACTIVE (Achieving Competitiveness Through Innovation and Value Enhancement) principles throughout the project with specific emphasis on Risk Management, Continuous Improvement and Innovation, and Supply Chain Relationships. The successful use of industry best practice and value enhancing practices in these areas culminated in the project being awarded a European Construction Institute (ECI) ACTIVE Project of the Year Award.

In September 2004 CEL International was appointed by Stahl Coatings and Fine Chemicals (Suzhou) Co. Ltd to build their new facility on a greenfield site in Suzhou, China – a contract that includes design, procurement and construction.

In March 2005, site work commenced with a Ground Breaking Ceremony. Around 75 guests attended this event that included the painting of the lion eyes and a Caiqing performance to ensure that Stahl will achieve a good performance in its future. A senior team from CEL International attended the ceremony including Senior Project Manager Glyn Ginsburg, Shanghai Office Manager Gerry Shen and Site Manager William Zhu, representing CEL’s Shanghai based team and who are managing project implementation on behalf of Stahl.

Stahl has been doing business in China since the early seventies. This new factory in China is scheduled to come on-stream in April 2006 and will produce leather finishing products including acrylics, pigments and lacquer emulsions for the leather and shoe industries and surface coatings for the flexible substrate industry.

Since 1967 CEL International have been delivering projects in China as engineers and project managers, primarily to the chemicals, coatings and pharmaceutical industries. The company have recently moved to new premises in Xu Jia Hui, Shanghai and will shortly become a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise.

Craig Chapman has joined CEL International as Sales and Marketing Director. Initially Craig will be based in CEL’s Coventry offices but will relocate in May 2005 to a new location in Coventry where the company will be setting up a new head office.

Craig joins CEL from Bovis Lend Lease where, for five years, he was Vice President of Business Development. Craig has over 20 years’ experience in the supply of process plant and facilities, particularly in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. Although Craig has primarily held Business Development roles within a number of process-focused companies including Bioengineering UK (which he established), APV (now part of Invensys) and Neu Engineering, he has also been responsible in operational and general management capacities.

Craig comments: “I am delighted to be joining CEL at a particularly exciting period in the company’s development. I feel that the combination of factors which has led to CEL’s recent success with our high quality client base will also provide a perfect ‘springboard’ for our next period of growth.”

Daryn Jenkins has rejoined CEL International as a Project Manager at their Coventry headquarters. Daryn rejoins CEL from PM Ltd where he was also a Project Manager.

Daryn has over 10 years’ experience in the design, engineering, construction and management of projects in the food, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries, and has recently managed projects for Avecia, Chiron, GSK and Cabot Carbon. Daryn’s approach to projects is based upon a strong belief in project cultures and a structured, hands-on method of achieving project goals.

Daryn has previously been responsible for setting up the South Wales regional office for CEL which, since its inception in 2002, has gone from strength to strength.