John Hogg

January 2012:

The UK Bribery Act (2010) has been in force since mid 2011, and JHTS would like to inform our customers and suppliers of our policy regarding this legislation.

The UK's FCO website explains the reasoning behind this legislation as follows: “Bribery has no place in British business, at home or abroad. This new robust law reflects the UK’s role in the fight against bribery and paves the way for competitive but fair practice. Over time it will have a positive impact on the prospects of UK businesses through enhanced reputation for ethical standards, reduced costs and an international level-playing field”.

It is JHTS policy to conduct all of our business in an honest and ethical manner.
We take a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and are committed to acting professionally, fairly, and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships, wherever we operate, and implementing and enforcing effective systems to counter bribery. We will uphold all laws relevant to countering bribery and corruption in all the jurisdictions in which we operate, and we remain bound by the laws of the UK in respect of our conduct both at home and abroad.

JHTS has traded worldwide for many years, and we appreciate that the practice of giving business gifts varies between countries and regions--what may be considered normal and acceptable in one region may not be in another.
All businesses must judge whether in all the circumstances the gift or hospitality, given or received, is reasonable and justifiable. The intention behind the gift should always be considered and the gift itself should be appropriate in the circumstances--for example, in the UK it is customary for small gifts to be given at Christmas time.

We shall continue to gift our customers and other contacts with small (and we hope attractive and useful) promotional items such as pens, calendars etc, without any restrictions, and without keeping a register of such gifts, since the value of these items is insignificant in business terms.

Our own staff are permitted to accept only small gifts of a value less than £30 ($45) and as usual this last Christmas, all the bottles of wine and similar goods, which had generously been given to us by our suppliers, were pooled into a raffle and the prizes distributed by luck throughout the whole of the company team.

We hope this briefly explains JHTS position in respect of this important aspect of business relationships, and we wish all our  readers, customers and suppliers a Happy and Prosperous  New Year  for 2012.

November 2011:

It’s been a busy few months since our last news item so we have a varied update this time:

Welcome!!

John Hogg Technical Solutions welcomes new Financial Director, Mrs Julia Wilson. Julia is a graduate of Bristol University and qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG. She has worked in a number of senior financial roles for a range of international manufacturing businesses, most recently as Finance Director of S&A Foods.

Mrs Julia Wilson

Congratulations!!

JHTS is very pleased to announce that our associate researcher, Victor Moll has successfully completed his Ph.D at the University of Loughborough, and he will be off to pastures new in December. Dr Moll will take up a research post, funded by British Aerospace and EU, at the Technical University in Athens, Greece. Good luck!! Or as we say στα ελληνικά: ΚΑΛΗ ΤΥΧΗ!!

Dr Victor Moll

REACH Update:

As the major supplier of fiscal fuel marker dyes into the European Market, JHTS always expected that it would need to play a leading role in REACH registrations for the dyes and markers used in the E.U.

However, our recent experience in trying to initiate a consortium for the registration of the “Euromarker “ chemical, C.I. Solvent Yellow 124, also known as Sudan ® Marker 455, has been rather disappointing. Despite there being several other so-called “global leader” suppliers and importers into the European market, none of them has agreed to join in the consortium to progress the registration of the Marker in time for 2013 deadline.

This means that JHTS will take the registration forward alone, bearing all the cost at this stage. We understand that being the true “global leader” in this field brings with it some additional burdens of responsible behaviour, and we sincerely hope our European customers recognise this!

And finally, Seasons’ Greetings to all readers.
We shall be sending e-cards as usual, and making a charitable donation in lieu of printing and postage costs.

August 2011:

The end of July marked another milestone for John Hogg, when JHTS Financial Director, Phil Slowe, retired after 30 years with the group. Phil joined the group in Feb 1981 as financial controller in the fuel distribution business, and subsequently was appointed as Director at JHTS and other group companies, including our Greek subsidiary.

The photo shows Phil (left) cutting the cake, with MD Robert Webb (right), during the small staff gathering held at Solutions House to mark the event. There were, not surprisingly, a few tears shed during the speeches!!! All the staff  at  JHTS ,  wish Phil, and wife Claudine,  a long  and healthy retirement, with  lots of happy caravanning…

May 2011:

The 6 or so months since our acquisition of the Dyes and Markers  businesses from BASF SE,  have been tremendously busy in all departments at JHTS, and we have neglected our news updates somewhat . Nevertheless, we have worked hard to maintain our usual top quality product and delivery services to all our customers during the brief integration period, which coincided with the exceptionally cold, and thus busy, winter months.

We will continue to supply all the current Sudan® and Kerotect® product ranges, as well as the Dyeguard® range of dyes and markers,  into the foreseeable future, so  you can be assured that it’s “business as usual”!!

In the UK,  we have completed the expected switch-over to Low  Sulphur  Gas Oil markers  in line with legislative requirements , without disruption to supplies  or any compromise on  product quality and performance.
We would now like to introduce some of the people who have joined our company since the last news update.

In the strategically important area of covert Marker product development and research, we are pleased to announce that we were successful with our Technology Strategy Board grant bid for a second Knowledge Transfer Partnership ,  in the  area of  ultra sensitive detection  techniques.  Pictured are Victor Moll – we hope soon to  be known as “Dr Vic” --  our new associate researcher, and electronics engineering graduate, Amer Muhiyye who strengthen our science team with their skills in chemical analysis, design, construction and repair of bespoke detection devices.

Victor & Amer

We also have 2 new faces in our sales team, Jane O’Connell and Wendy Wood.  Jane has several years of sales and customer service  experience in a broad range of industries and is a fluent German speaker, and  she will take responsibility for Sudan® powder dye sales world wide. Wendy, who holds a degree in chemistry, joins us from  a career in sales and technical support in fuel performance additives  businesses, and will take responsibility for a diverse portfolio of products and customers - including the North American  markets.

Jackie, Wendy & Jane

Customer service needs and legislative requirements for documentation  continue to grow in the chemicals industries, and we have introduced additional support staff  in response: Jackie Ashley joined our customer services team some months ago, and Nigel Slater will take responsibility for  preparation of  technical documentation, such as C of A and SDS, and assist with REACH SIEF and Consortium management .

Nigel & Darren

Driving and keeping costs down is also key to the success of any business in the current economic climate, and 2 experienced purchasers joined our team : Miri Lahi and Janet McDougall.

Paul & Janet

We’d also like to  introduce 2 of our “back room” boys in blue -- Paul Nicholson and  (for the Nominative Determinists amongst our readers)-- the very appropriately named Darren Dyer, who both  joined our production department late in  2010, as part of the team making, blending, packing and dispatching our extensive product range from our  Manchester base. Last but not least is Lewis Bedford who works hard to keep all our computer hardware and software running!!

Lewis & Miri

Welcome (albeit somewhat belatedly) to one and all!