Univar’s Personal Care, Pharmaceutical and Export (PCPE) business:

This year Univar’s Personal Care, Pharmaceutical and Export (PCPE) business celebrates its 50th Anniversary. The business has its origin in D.F. Anstead Ltd, a company established in August 1955 as a specialist manufacturer of colours for foodstuffs and personal care products. Its two initiating owner-directors, Douglas Anstead, who gave his name to the company, and Drummond Kerr, each had a history in colour manufacturing and their combined expertise proved to be a successful formula in building a business.

By the end of 1955, D.F. Anstead was set up at 99, Victoria Road, Romford, Essex, UK, where a large house served as offices and laboratories and a stable block was converted to provide the manufacturing and storage units. The company’s first order came from international cosmetics brand leader Coty, for a lipstick paste, starting Anstead’s tradition of supplying customers with bespoke materials tailored to an agreed specification.

In 1980, D.F. Anstead Ltd was acquired by the large British chemical distribution company Ellis & Everard plc, which was itself acquired in 2001 by Royal Vopak of the Netherlands and added to Vopak’s chemical distribution businesses. At that time, Vopak’s UK pharmaceutical business was integrated into the Anstead portfolio, giving it the number one position in both Personal Care and Pharmaceutical ingredients in the UK market.

In 2002, Royal Vopak separated its shipping and chemical distribution businesses and its chemical distribution businesses worldwide, including Ellis & Everard and Anstead International, came together under the name Univar. In 2003 the Personal Care, Pharmaceutical and Export business moved into purpose-built, state-of-the-art office and warehousing facilities in Basildon, UK, from where it continues the tradition of providing a broad range of raw materials, colours and hair dyes tailored to customer’s individual requirements, started by Douglas Anstead 50 years ago.

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