INDEPENDENT MARKETER OF SPECIALITY OILS & FLUIDS
SIP prides itself in the extensive experience of its employees. Over the years a number of experts have been recruited providing SIP with a broad knowledge of a variety of industries, including chemicals, solvents, lubricants, refining, petroleum additives, offshore drilling and white oils.
Profiles of some of the Management team are shown below.
Steve Spencer – Managing Director
Steve has over 35 years experience in the solvents, chemicals and oils markets with roles in operations, finance, sales & marketing and general management, with more than 25 years in senior management, including 12 years at board level.
Companies include a major UK solvent & chemical distributor, the UK’s largest independent speciality solvents and oils producer with global sales (latterly part of the multinational group Repsol) and SIP.
Roles held have been Area Sales Manager, Product Group Manager, Regional Commercial Manager, Marketing Manager, Divisional General Manager, Director of Marketing and current position.
Major successes have included identifying growth and increasing sales within all companies, leading major development projects, integration of a division into the main organisation following an acquisition, reorganisation of a European subsidiary of a multinational, restructuring of organisation.
Steve has served on a committee of a sector group in the European Council of Chemical Manufacturers’ Federations (CEFIC) and was a member of the Executive Committee of the UK Solvents Industry Association (SIA). He is also a Fellow of The Chartered Management Institute, Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing and Member of The Institute of Directors.
Kerry Larkin – Director of Marketing & Development
Kerry has worked in the oils and lubricants sector since she started as a graduate trainee in the chemicals industry. In 1997 she moved to the oil Industry, joining Fuchs Lubricants as their UK Sales Manager for Petroleum Jelly and White Oils. Kerry joined SIP in 2001 as a product manager for White Oils and has recently been promoted to running the marketing and technical department for all SIP’s product and industry sectors, with the exception of drilling applications. Kerry has retained sales responsibility for a number of key accounts, as well as the purchasing responsibility for Automotive, Industrial and White Oils. She is currently studying for an MBA part time at Henley Business School.
Glen Cockroft – Director - Drilling & Speciality Fluids
Glen graduated with a honours degree in Earth Sciences from Leicester University followed by post graduate studies at Keele University. He started work in the offshore industry in 1981 in various drilling fluid and geological engineering roles, and worked in several International locations, including all the European offshore sectors of the North Sea, Angola, Nigeria, Gabon, Egypt, Somalia, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.
He moved into a technical/commercial role in the oil services division of Allied Colloids, working specifically on water based polymers for use in the offshore drilling, production and enhanced oil recovery sectors. This was followed by running the drilling fluid base oil business for Carless Refining and Marketing Ltd, from 1989 to 1997.
In 1997 Glen joined SIP as Drilling Base Fluids Manager and was promoted to Director of Drilling & Speciality Fluids in 2005. Since that date, SIP`s drilling business has grown significantly and is now a major part of SIP`s overall business. The company have developed a range of drilling base fluids and have products to meet most technical or legislative requirement worldwide.
Stephen Lord – Sales Manager EAME
Stephen has over 30 years commercial experience in the oil industry, working across a wide range of industries through his experience with a national lubricant company and a major UK refiner. He has been with SIP since 1993, during which time he has been responsible for promoting SIP’s range of high quality base fluids to Industrial and Automotive applications, including exports to the Middle East and Africa.
Simon Lawford – European Sales Manager
Simon was an R & D chemist, developing PAG and ester based fluids for ten years before moving into a technical service role. He has been responsible for the formulation, introduction and technical support / sales of PAG base fluids and compounded PAG & Ester industrial lubricants on behalf of Inspec, Laporte and then, from 2000 to 2004, for Cognis globally. Simon then spent three years as a European Marketing Manager for Cognis Synlubes before joining SIP as European Sales Manager with product responsibility for White Oils and Industrial Oils.
Chris Smith – Consultant
Chris has worked in the chemicals, oils and solvents sector for over fifty years, starting off in a technical position for a UK refiner, before moving into a commercial role where he has held a number of positions from Sales Manager to General Manager, both in the UK and Holland. SIP have been benefiting from Chris’s extensive industry experience on a part-time basis since 2003.
Mike Peters – Development and Quality Assurance Manager
Mike has over 40 years experience in the oil and petroleum additives industries. He has had technical, marketing and sales management roles and has been with SIP for the last ten years. During his career, Mike has travelled extensively throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and has had dealings with a wide range of organisations, including most of the global lubricant producers, as well as national oil companies. This has given him an exceptional understanding of the needs of all types of businesses, especially those relating to approval processes, performance requirements, registrations and certifications & OEM approvals.
Mike’s experience also includes OEM contact, coordinating lubricant field trials, running extensive test programmes, presenting conferences and running training programmes for customers.
Tim Eyre – Technical Support Manager
Tim read Chemistry at the University of Salford and liked the place so much he stayed there to expand his knowledge of chemistry following a PhD studentship sponsored by Glaxo Research. The studentship involved the synthesis of novel cyclopentenone rings with bio activity – antibiotics. Finishing the PhD in 1981, he went on to join Glaxo Chem in Montrose Scotland working as a Process Development chemist giving technical support to a steroid manufacturing process – working between the laboratory and the plant.
Tim progressed his career moving into Production Management in Fine Chemicals and Pharmaceutical intermediates, subsequently moving into a technical service role with ethylene and propylene oxide copolymers servicing a European customer base in a variety of sectors including industrial lubricants, antifoams and pharmaceuticals. In 1991 Tim joined the Texaco (subsequently Chevron) UK lubricants business and progressed through a variety of roles, finally moving into Global Accounts, working with Commercial and Heavy Duty OEMs for first fill and after market business.
Andrew Ottaway – Operations Manager
Andrew is a fuel and technology engineer with 37 years experience in logistics and operations, including bulk liquid storage, chemical and petroleum distribution and vessel chartering. He spent nine years working with Amoco in supply operations before moving to Unitank / GATX, where he spent ten years managing terminal logistics and project managing new terminal operations. Andrew joined SIP in 1993 to head up the operations department. Since doing so he has set up our terminal arrangements, at both TDG Pinnacle in London and ADPO in Antwerp, with bespoke blending facilities for the entire product range. He has an experienced team who are responsible for all aspects of the supply chain, from refinery to customer.