Lime supplier invests £600,000 in new R&D centre

Lime company Singleton Birch has invested £600,000 in a new research and development centre at its North Lincolnshire site.

The centre will support the development of new products for the firm’s group of businesses, including Birch Chemicals, which operates in the plastics and rubber sector, and utility arm, Birch Solutions.

Chris Meyer, research and development manager for Singleton Birch, said: “We are now doing more and more research which has led to the building of our new, state-of-the-art centre. Our work has previously focused on testing and quality control but we are now focusing more on developing new products to support the various Singleton Birch businesses.

“The centre is very much a reflection of what we wanted in the laboratory and as a research and development team, we had a hand in designing the space.”

There is a permanent team of four in the research and development department and their work is supported by regular university internships.

Meyer explained: “We work very closely with universities. For example, we have recently had a PhD student from the University of Bath and currently have a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) associate from the University of Hull working with us on some longer-term projects.

“And this summer, we had undergraduate interns work with us on projects such as blasting on site and optimising the hydration process.

“We are looking forward to moving into a new laboratory and with some of the business expansion ahead, we may invest further in new analytical equipment and we have created space in the lab for this.”

Singleton Birch was founded in 1815 and although it has diversified into a number of sectors, its core business remains the global supply of chalk and lime products.

Richard Stansfield, managing director of Singleton Birch, said: “The quality of our products has always been very important to us which is why we have our own testing laboratory onsite. Our heritage is built on these high-standards and as we develop, we also need to innovate to deliver the solutions our clients are looking for.

“This new centre will allow us to do that and is a signal to the various industries we work in that we clear ambitions for the future.”

Singleton Birch was founded by William Singleton Birch, a mineral merchant who leased the quarry at Chalk Hill in Melton Ross in the 1850s. His shares in the company eventually passed to his grandson Lionel Martin, who founded the Aston Martin car.

Lionel Martin’s wife Katherine Martin inherited the shares when he died and she left the shares in trust for the benefit of three charities – the NSPCC, RSPCA and Barnardo’s.

The new research and development facility will be officially opened by Jonathan Kay, the grandson of Katherine Martin.