In August, Monmouth’s local MP David Davies visited dye and pigment manufacturers and British Coatings Federation (BCF) members Simpsons UK and Roha UK.  Davies went on a tour of the facility and gained experience first-hand how chemicals are made for coatings, inks and plastics. He also had an extensive discussion about REACH and the upcoming 2018 deadline for low volume substances.

David Davies MP said: “Simpsons are one of those rare success stories where manufacturing has been brought from India to the UK. They are carrying on the tradition of British manufacturing and make a vital contribution to both the local and UK economy.

“Simpsons export their products all over the world, and I am determined to defend those SMEs who are subject to burdensome regulations such as the EU’s Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).”

Vidyut Mehta, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Manager at Simpsons, said:  “We’re proud that we manufacture here in Monmouthshire.  We urge our MP to convince the Government of the need to support SMEs for relief from huge REACH registration cost burden on low volume products, and increase the threshold limit from 1 MT to a reasonable level for the coatings and inks industries and many other sectors of use.”

Tom Bowtell, Chief Executive of the BCF, said: “REACH has been voted the most burdensome regulation in the EU by SMEs, and as such poses a real threat to companies like Simpsons.  The BCF has been raising the visibility of how it is affecting the competitiveness of the coatings industry for several years.  It’s great that Mr Davies will be taking this to Government and defending SMEs from the bureaucracy involved in the registration and authorisation of low volume substances in REACH, to help protect the raw materials available which enable innovation and growth from UK SMEs in coatings and other sectors.


The British Coatings Federation is the sole Trade Association representing the UK paints, printing inks, powder coatings and wallcoverings manufacturers.  For further information, please contact Alison Brown at the BCF, [email protected], telephone 01372 365989 www.coatings.org.uk