When it comes to treating and recycling water and wastewater, market leader in polymer technology and application SNF Australia is making a huge difference in ensuring sustainable water supply, while also protecting ecosystems and supporting agriculture and industry across Australia’s diverse climates.
As part of the global network of the world’s largest flocculant manufacturer, SNF Group, SNF Australia is leading the charge to reduce environmental impact, maximize resource efficiency and safeguard the future of water security in Australia.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that we bring to market over 150 new products in the polyacrylamide space every year.”
The company serves a broad cross section of industries, including mining, oil and gas, paper, agriculture, textiles and personal care.
“We’re very focused on doing the best we can do in every segment in which we operate,” SNF Australia CEO Phil McColl tells The CEO Magazine.
“Whether that’s through the products we sell, the supply chain that manages the products or our quality and technical teams in the field, we have a very focused approach in each market to ensure we’re delivering the best solutions to each of our customers.”
Expansion plans
McColl is an experienced business manager with a history of developing innovative chemical solutions for the minerals processing industry. He joined SNF Australia as CEO in February 2023, having previously worked with chemical manufacturing company BASF for almost 12 years, and as Chair of the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce between 2017–2023.
“In the 18 months I’ve been with SNF Australia, there hasn’t been a problem we haven’t, as a group, been able to solve,” he says. “That’s testament to the strength of the diverse team in which I work.”
SNF Australia is set to expand under McColl’s leadership. Already, the company has made significant investments in developing greener processes in its plants.
“In Australia, we’ve completed two major investment projects to upgrade our acrylamide and polyDADMAC plants, which have significantly increased the volume of domestic product we’re able to produce to sell into the Australian market,” he says.
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“Our acrylamide plant is now a bio plant, so it uses a bio process to produce our raw materials, as opposed to raw materials that are produced from fossil fuels.”
Globally, SNF treats over a billion liters of water for more than one billion people worldwide. In Australia, with water a scarce resource, McColl says growth will continue to be a focus to bring chemistries to the market that allow the efficient production of drinking water.
“We’ll continue to focus on new product development, and the application of new products into the sewerage industry. One of the bigger markets where we foresee growth is the mining industry, which will continue to be an integral part of the SNF portfolio,” he says.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that we bring to market over 150 new products in the polyacrylamide space every year. We’ve got over 450 scientists doing polymer research on a daily basis and tailoring what we produce to the needs of the market.”
Diversity and inclusion
Fostering an inclusive and fair workplace culture is of paramount importance to the productivity and success of the company, McColl asserts.
“We’ve significantly increased the size of our workforce, which has almost doubled in the last 10 years and has actually increased over 14 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic,” he explains.
“We take a very proactive approach toward the people in the team and looked at our demographic split to foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce.”
He says the company’s focus on diversity has brought with it tremendous benefits.
“We have 16 different nationalities working within our Australian organization,” he says. “Embracing the different backgrounds of our people really brings different perspectives to the problems we face. And I think that, as a cohesive group, makes us stronger.”
“We take a very proactive approach to the people in the team and looked at our demographic split to foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce.”
The company has significantly increased its female representation to 30 percent, and actively promotes female staff from within the organization to positions of leadership.
“Chemical production is more traditionally a male-dominated industry, and despite this we’ve really been able to foster and develop females from within the business and give them good, strong career advancement within the manufacturing facility and within our current organization,” he says.
“At the same time, we’ve also been able to eradicate the opportunity for gender pay disparity by implementing standardized structured salaries, which apply right across the board to ensure there is equity for all people in the organization.”
Leading by example
In addition to the impressive achievements of its internal staff, McColl says its external partnerships also play an integral role in the company’s ongoing success.
“We acknowledge that there are markets into which we supply where we may not have all the solutions, which makes external partnerships extremely important,” he says.
“For example, we’re very reliant on our supply chain partners to help us get the products we produce to the consumers in the time frame that they’re required, and to make sure they’re delivered in a manner that makes them fit for purpose for use.
“Another example is Sarjaro, who specialize in the treatment of PFAS [perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl] materials. We work closely with them to ensure our customers get the offering they require in a market where we acknowledge that we’re not a specialist provider in that market.”
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He says some of the company’s long-term partners have been working alongside SNF since the company’s inception.
“We have very loyal partners, some who have been with us since the company began operating in 1998. And it’s good for us because we’ve got people we can trust, and it’s good for our partners because they know we’re reliable and we’re here for the long-term,” he says.
“We understand that it’s the people in our partners’ organization that make the difference.”
“We want to bring out the best in the people that work within the company.”
Fostering a positive work environment, with inclusivity and work–life balance at its core, McColl says is central to his leadership.
“One of the key philosophies of our management team is to foster an environment where people feel safe to offer ideas and suggestions. We want to bring out the best in the people that work within the company,” he says.
“A major focus for me is to lead by example. It’s to be open in meetings and provide a safe space where every person’s input is welcome, so that ideas incubate and develop into something that creates a bigger outcome than what we may have predicted when we first go into a meeting.
“I think it’s a measure of our success that we’re creating the right environment to allow everybody in the organization to be exactly who they are and to bring as much as themselves to work as they can.”
