Section 172 (1) statement
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires a director of a company to act in the way he or she considers, in good faith, would most likely promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole. In doing this, section 172 requires a director to have regard, amongst other matters, to the:
(a) likely consequences of any decisions in the long-term;
(b) interests of the company’s employees;
(c) need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others;
(d) impact of the company’s operations on the community and environment;
(e) desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct;
(f) need to act fairly between members of the company.
We set out below some examples of how the directors have had regard to the matters set out in section 172(1)(a) – (f) when discharging their section 172 duties in their decision making.
New plant in Poland
During the financial year, construction was underway of the first machine line in the newly established subsidiary company, Sumika Polymer Compounds (Poland) Sp. z o.o. The strong motivations for a new plant in the important NE Europe region, savings in transport costs, CO2 and meeting customer demand for the security of localised supply chains, have become even more compelling with recent political and economic events. The factory build is now complete, with only minor delays and cost overruns, some of which were conscious decisions to prepare for further expansion in the future. The Company provided funding to Sumika Poland during the year by way of additional share capital and loans. The Poland plant complements the Group’s existing locations in UK, South of France and Turkey, securing the Group’s business with existing customers and providing opportunity to win new customers. Production at the new plant commenced in August 2022.
Renewable energy investment
In accordance with the Group’s strategy of increasing sustainability within its operations, the directors sanctioned an investment in solar EV panels in Sumika UK. The panels are located across the total roof area of the plant buildings and are planned to generate up to 25% of the plant’s energy consumption, resulting in a further reduction in CO2 emissions and associated production costs. The project will also help mitigate exposure to future energy price increases. The installation was completed in October 2022. Review is underway of installation of solar panels at other subsidiary companies. These initiatives will vastly increase onsite generation in the Group from the sole existing much smaller solar installation that has been in place for some years at Sumika France.
Sumika Polymer Compounds (Europe) Ltd
Approved by the board on monday 31 October 2022