JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015 - 4

point of view: raw material

Victrex, at the peak of innovation

An interview with
DAviD hummel,
CEO

Victrex

JEC Composites Magazine: Can
you provide some key figures/
dates to give us a clearer picture
of your company?

David Hummel : For an
organization boasting an annual
turnover of over £252m as well
as a healthy operating income
and consistent recommendations
from leading financial analysts to
invest in the company, it could
be easy to become complacent
about bringing new products
to market. But this isn't the approach Victrex takes, preferring
instead to move nimbly into high
value, R&D-intensive manufacturing.
JCM: In September, Anita Frew
stepped down from her current
position as chairperson, after 14
years of collaboration within Victrex. Does this change announce
a shift in the group's mission and
vision?

D.H : In September this year,
Anita Frew stepped down after
14 years on the board of Victrex
with six of these years serving
as Chairperson. She will be
replaced by Larry Pentz, a NonExecutive Director with more
than 30 years of experience in
Johnson Matthey Plc, who has already been serving on the Victrex
board for approximately 6 years.
The advent of the new Chairperson didn't herald a revolution
and the company continues to be
firmly committed to innovation,
as well as sticking to the previously agreed focus on developing
PEEK solutions in designated
market segments.
JCM: What challenges will her
successor have to meet??

D.H : The existing five focus
industries, aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, medical,
remain at the core of the com-

About Victrex

From filing of the PEEK patent in 1978 or just over 60 employees in 1993, the company has moved from strength to
strength, with innovation and the creation of value-added
solutions being at the very heart of its mission. Ian Smith,
Head of Marketing knows about the advantages of Victrex'
unrivalled more than 35 years as a world leader in high

interview

With more than 35 years of research and development on
polyaryletherketones, Victrex is a key raw material supplier
in the composites industry. Their CEO, David Hummel,
highlights Victrex's philosophy about innovation for us
and reveals new potential PEEK applications.

Quality, innovation,
reliability and safety
are exactly what we
deliver (...)

pany's objectives and powerful
statements of intent that encapsulate the whole philosophy
behind Victrex' operations. For
example, a "No Heavy Metal" assertion represents the company's
intention to facilitate the design
and build of ever more portable and long-lasting electronic

devices. In the energy sector,
Victrex sees "Recover More" as
its slogan, by providing reliable,
efficient and safe solutions that
perform in extreme temperatures
and corrosive environments
that can be found in downhole
drilling operations. Our strategy
continues to focus on keeping
us well-positioned to maintain
global leadership, while accelerating growth and capturing value
by a market-led and innovationdriven approach.
JCM: Automotive and aviation
have always been traditional sectors for PEEK, and these sectors
continue to be central to Victrex's
development. What was your
strategy to get OEMs to choose
PEEK?

D.H : Let me give you a brief
example from areospace. There
are thousands of metal brackets
on every aircraft. Replacing them

performance polymers. "We define our innovation journey
as focusing on three horizons. The first being innovation for
today and in the second horizon it is innovation being a blend
of disruptive and significant steps forward. This will result in
solutions which are radically different and bring a new value
/ performance combination. Finally, we have our long term
goal of capabilities innovation."

4 jec composites magazine / No94 January - February 2015

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015