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Why we’re helping nurses, doctors and frontline staff to keep their hands clean 

Whether you are working from home, working on the frontlines, homeschooling, isolating, or working on one of the key sites to keep the UK going, we are all in this together. 

We watch the news like never before, though on some days we don’t watch at all because it can feel overwhelming. We hold our loved ones in our thoughts like never before, we feel our community keenly. 

Many of us are tired, many of us are worried, many of us have sore hands and sore fingers from the continuous washing and sanitising.  

At 2M, we were running the usual innovation brainstorm a few weeks before this started and someone in the Surfachem labs started looking at hand sanitiser. As we’re in the field of personal care, we looked at a “kind” hand sanitiser that is 60% alcohol but also moisturising. “Good idea” we thought, and filed it away. Until this, until now.  

We started witnessing the queues in pharmacies for hand sanitiser and the frantic worry in our communities and we thought – surely…we can help? To be clear, this is not something that we have manufactured before, but our fantastic teams ran towards the challenge and ran at it hard and fast.  

We turned around our blending facilities, used to blending very different products. We trained a team, used to working on different products. Our Formulation & Technical Development Manager made 200 mile round trips to Middlesbrough, to watch the huge blending stations be cleaned to personal care grade hygiene standards. We didn’t just do it fast, we did it well. Really well.  

I was impressed. But more was to come: As soon as it was done, our UK & Ireland Sales Manager said: “Can we give it away to those who really need it?” Our salespeople are targeted on sales numbers, but this was his first question.  

My answer: “Yes. We can and we must.” 

So, we are donating 3000 bottles of hand sanitiser from our first production run and the more ethanol we are able to access, the more we will donate.   

First, we gave to our staff, because they are our family. Then, we gave to our staff’s communities, because they too need our support and protection. We received a number of requests, requests that stunned me. 

• From A&E nurses who are working in Coronavirus wards;
• From pharmacists working alone, all day, to keep their local pharmacy open; 
• From the many amazing Childrens’ social workers, working in Manchester, UK, to look after vulnerable children who are no longer being looked after at school every day; 
• From 25 teachers who are still working, looking after the children of key workers; 
• From a facility which provides end of life care.

The list is endless and we are trying to meet all requests.  

I am writing this letter because I hope many more UK businesses will continue to support each other.  

To my team: Thank you.  

To the NHS workers, working tirelessly across the UK, we salute you. Thank you for all that you do. We will do all that we can do to help you, in this small way.  

With deep appreciation,  

Mottie Kessler MBE 

At the 2M Group, we are continuously monitoring the global updates on Coronavirus (COVID 19) and will abide by all recommendations from the UK’s Department of Health; the World Health Organisation and the CDC.

The safety of our communities, colleagues, customers and suppliers is of paramount importance for us so until further notice, we will restrict travel and gatherings including conferences and large meetings. Meetings will be replaced by video calls and phone calls.

During this time, we will strive to make this time of uncertainty productive for our company and any company working in partnership with us. We want to assure you that our products will continue to have a robust supply chain without interruption. The majority of our supply base is within the EU and North America and is so far unaffected.

This is a difficult time for all and we appreciate your continued support. We anticipate that this virus will continue to spread in the coming weeks and months, and our priority is the health and safety of all concerned.

The 2M Group of companies have implemented several actions and controls in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and the World Health Organisation’s declaration of a Public Health emergency of international concern.

To protect our colleagues and visitors we are;

• Asking employees not to travel to affected zones and to limit international travel to strictly necessary. All travel is being approved by senior management and employees are instructed to self – isolate for 14 days if returning from an affected region or in contact with someone who is affected.
• Asking employees and colleagues to respect the “no handshake” recommendations made by health organisations.
• Issuing special visitor requirements respectfully asking them to read and confirm that they have not visited any of the risk identified countries and have not been in contact with anyone who has contracted the Coronavirus (COVID-19) during the previous 14 days.

To mitigate supply chain disruption, we are;

• Seeking reassurances of supply chain from all major supply partners.
• Undertaking regular reviews of stock and supply chains to be able to identify alternative origins and supply sources as soon as it evident there may be some disruption.
• Suggesting that customers make longer term commitments on key products to assist with stock replenishment decisions to limit the possibility of shortages.
• Offering a diverse ingredient portfolio, derived from a variety of feedstocks.
• Sourcing ingredients from hundreds of suppliers, with multiple sources or multiple manufacturing sites available for many of our products.
• Working with key alliances, such as Omni-chem 136, the world’s largest network of independent chemical distributors, to leverage combined assets and ultimately, provide responsive supply chain support and quality assurance.

The 2M Group has international purchase and supply agreements with global organisations and believe it is well placed to source products from international markets where supplies are not currently affected by the Coronavirus.

Surfachem Nordic, a 2M Holdings company, has been awarded with the Gaselle certification 2019.

Gaselle 2019

Sponsored by Grant Thornton, Azets and Bisnode, the Gaselle listing criteria includes factors such as year on year revenue growth, increased size and turnover, and the maintenance of positive operating profit.

We are proud to share that Surfachem Nordic has fulfilled the above criteria, and therefore has been listed as ‘Gasellebedrift 2019’.

In light of this success, we would like to thank all of our team, customers and partners for making this possible.

About 2M

Founded in 2004, 2M Holdings (www.2m-holdings.com), is a portfolio of strong brand life science based companies, supplying chemicals and application knowhow worldwide. Surfachem Nordic has been part of the 2M Holdings group since 2014.

2M Holdings received the The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 Award at a glittering ceremony in London on 20th November, 2019.

The league table ranks Britain’s private mid-market growth companies with the biggest sales and was announced in October in the UK’s Sunday Times Newspaper and website.

2M was also recently crowned with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise – International Trade, as well as Export Champion 2019, by the Department for International Trade’s Northern Powerhouse.

L-R: Mottie Kessler MBE, Chairman and CEO of 2M Holdings; Dr Maggie Kessler, Export Director of 2M; Colin Boyle, Group Financial Director of 2M.

Mental health and wellbeing support

At 2M Holdings, we want all of our employees to be both as happy and emotionally supported as they possibly can be.

As part of a wider 2M group initiative, one way we do this is through working with Spill – a message-based app that offers a completely confidential counselling and therapy service.

Getting talking with Spill

Did you know… 68% of people prefer communicating with others by message instead of face-to-face? Working with Spill allows our team to take control of their mental health and wellbeing in a convenient way over message. The app supports our employees in dealing with life problems before they become life-altering.

Spill | Employee success story

We caught up with one of our colleagues within the 2M group that has recently downloaded Spill. Here’s how they’ve found the app so far…

What was your initial experience with Spill?

“I recently signed up to the Spill message-based therapy app. It’s super easy to do – you simply download it onto your phone and it’s all very secure!

Why do you use Spill and how does it benefit you?

“I felt there were a few things going on in my life that I wanted help and clarity on. Initially, you are put in contact with a Spill member who asks you a little bit more about yourself and your reasons for wanting to explore the app. After a few messages you are then matched with a counsellor. From here, your counsellor will reply to all messages you send twice a week. For me, it’s working really well, and I’ve found it very helpful. The key thing to understand is that although no-one can sort everything out for you, they can give you different perspectives and ways to think about things. If you are thinking about giving it a go, I would say stop thinking and DO IT!”

Working with Spill

2M Holdings are delighted to announce that since our internal launch of Spill, we have extended our contract to continue providing our employees with mental health and wellbeing support.

Let’s keep talk about talking!

We are delighted that 2M Holdings has been listed on the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 for 2019.

The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 league table ranks Britain’s private mid-market growth companies with the biggest sales.

The league table is published in the Sunday Times Business section and website.

2M was also crowned with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise – International Trade 2019 in recent months, as well as Export Champion 2019, by the Department for International Trade’s Northern Powerhouse.

About 2M

2M Holdings (www.2m-holdings.com), is a portfolio of strong brand life science based companies, supplying chemicals and application knowhow worldwide.

Entrepreneur founded in 2004, the Group is privately owned. 2M is led by Mottie Kessler MBE, the present Chairman and CEO and Dr Maggie Kessler, International Trade Director.

Headquartered in the UK, the company has international presence in Benelux, Brazil, China, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Scandinavia. 2M export to over 90 countries.

As a company, 2M believe in the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education for young people. 2M actively invest in skills creation within our local communities and in creating access to careers in STEM in the UK and beyond.

2M supply the following industries:

Range of Surfactants for: Personal-Care, Household & Industrial Hygiene Cleaning

Aerospace and Aviation,

Coating,

Emission Reduction,

Flavours & Fragrances

Oil & Gas (Oil Refineries)

Pharmaceuticals

Precision Cleaning,

2M Holdings’ branded products include:

Surfac®, CleanAirBlue™ (AdBlue), MEC™-Prime, Perklone™ EXT, Pigmentan™, SamSolTM and Triklone™ LE

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Representative, The Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and the Worshipful Mayor of Halton, attended the 2M Headquarters in Runcorn, UK this week to present Mottie Kessler MBE and Dr Maggie Kessler, co-owners, with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, International Trade 2019.

The Award comes in recognition of the significant export growth by 2M and in appreciation of 2M’s investment in young people’s access to a career in STEM, in the form of the 2M STEM programme, founded in 2016.

The event was attended by DIT and the DIT Northern Powerhouse representatives, 2M’s employees from across the UK and Europe and many of 2M’s customers and suppliers.

2M Celebrated winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, International Trade, with David Briggs, MBE, K.St.J , The Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire; Councillor Margaret Horabin, The Worshipful Mayor of Halton; The DIT’s representatives, 2M’s team, customers and suppliers.

David Briggs, MBE, K.St.J , The Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire told 2M’s employees:
“The Queen’s Award is the highest business award which exists in this country. What you have done, together and as a team, is to win the UK’s highest business award! “

2M has furthered its commitment to employee wellbeing with the recent introduction of Relaxation sessions and a dedicated Relaxation zone for employees.

By redesigning the loft space at 2M House, recently opened by His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, 2M has created a Relaxation zone which all employees can access.

The zone makes possible Relaxation sessions, which are expert led and designed to give employees an opportunity to decompress at work.

This is one of several initiatives which 2M is rolling our as part of its proactive approach to Employee Wellbeing.

The Group is also rolling out a free therapy programme for all employees.

2M’s new Relaxation zone at the 2M House

A Relaxation session at 2M House