Company profile A Fernox factfile
• Fernox was founded by German chemist Peter Muetzel who later sold the company
• In the early 1980s, Fernox pioneered a jet engine cleaner to keep the British Sea Harrier flying during the Falklands conflict • The company developed the first commercially available central heating inhibitor MB1
• Fernox believes service and support are as key to the business as making sure products are best in class • Predominately a UK business, Fernox’s head office is based in Woking, which consists of a technical academy, a research and development centre and offices
• Manufacturing takes place in both the UK and Europe • In the past 15 years Fernox has increased its export potential and now deals with markets in Europe, China and the Americas • A global leader in the domestic field, Fernox now has a growing element in the commercial arena
• Unlike some other water treatment companies, it goes to market through the merchants rather than the contractors • Fernox manufactures more than 120 chemical products, plus over 60 devices and other specialist equipment.
• An ambitious programme of product development means Fernox’s recent innovations have centred increasingly on renewable energy, • Fernox turned 50 in 2014 and has been marking its five decades as a pioneering force in the heating industry with a year-long campaign which will culminate in a £50,000 prize draw in December
Fernox
renewables products
group, Alent, which has dedicated laboratory scientists to provide the necessary scientific expertise to enable Fernox to perfect its clean- ers and “make sure they are best in class”. “It’s that sort of knowledge and science base that enables us to look at problems and come up with solutions,” says Ernie.
Staying one step ahead Being able to anticipate legislative change, and developing product suitable for when the changes are implemented, is a practice which is also helping Fernox to stay at the forefront of its sector. Legislative changes looming which fall into this category include ErP as well as CLP (clas- sification, labelling and packag- ing) a Global Harmonisation System (GHS). “We have also put a lot of effort into ensuring we remove ingredi- ents from our products which can impact the environment. Over the past 10 years, we’ve found other ways of providing the same level
or greater inhibition by using products which have a lower environmental impact. “We think this is how we stay ahead of our competitors. But this is difficult to measure. With water treatment, especially with an inhibitor, it can be months or years before an inhibitor causes problems if it is not effective. Often the only measure is that people will use what they’ve used before because it has never let them down. This puts pressure on my team to ensure anything we put into the market cannot fail so we are rigorous to ensuring that brand image remains,” Ernie says.
The future “We have a strong brand in the UK that is growing internationally. As a custodian for that brand, I need to ensure whoever’s in my position in 50 years time will be able to say Fernox is still here and we are still a major part of the commercial and domestic heating industry,” Ernie concludes.
Daily news update at
www.heatingandventilating.net HVR | October 2014 | 11
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