Royal seal of approval for Wales-based resin manufacturer Purolite

Now in its 56th year, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is widely recognised as the UK’s highest accolade for business success. The annual awards acknowledge firms that have excelled in exporting, social or environmental good work or innovation.

Purolite is one of 232 organisations nationally to be recognised with the prestigious award this year. The business was chosen for demonstrating outstanding success in innovation and international trade, as well as the resilience the business has shown in unprecedented times.

Purolite is one of Wales’ most prominent advanced manufacturing firms, operating its Life Sciences division in Llantrisant, north of Cardiff where it employs more than 150 people. The company played a key role in helping to develop COVID drugs and vaccines and supplies many of the manufacturers of treatments approved by regulators around the world.

Leighton Davies, Finance Director at Purolite, has received an invitation to the Buckingham Palace awards reception hosted by Her Majesty The Queen.

Chris Major, UK General Manager at Purolite’s Healthcare & Life Sciences division in Llantrisant, north of Cardiff, added: “We’ve worked hard to deliver quality, reliable and industry-leading resins to our customers, and the continued growth of our customer base is testament to this.

“The pandemic forced the business to work more flexibly as we complied with Government guidelines across the globe. Our manufacturing teams in Llantrisant, Wales continued to work through the pandemic with social distancing and PPE in use. 

“The support and sales teams at Llantrisant worked from home offices and continued to grow the business. This demonstrates the agility and commitment of the workforce. 

“The Agarose Life Science business is the growth engine of the Purolite group and positions the company well for the next decade and beyond. Exports of agarose resins account for the majority of our turnover, and this trend is expected to continue.”

Agarose resins are used in 90% of biopharmaceuticals approved by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the manufacture of modern medicines targeting the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related diseases and in developing treatments and vaccines that combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major added: “We have invested significantly in our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Wales which is complemented by our talented and skilled workforce. This investment underlines the company’s commitment not only to Life Sciences, but also to its long heritage of manufacturing in Wales and the UK.”