Briar Chemicals balances long-term crop protection contracts with opportunities in start-up support and environmental projects
Although Briar Chemicals (Briar) has typically maintained a strong focus on the crop protection market – primarily supplying multinational companies with herbicides across various platforms – it has evolved significantly from the previous owners’ legacy companies. Headquartered in Norwich, UK, Briar’s chemistry capabilities include ammonolysis, bromination, chlorination, iodination, nitration, oxidation, and the recovery and recycling of solvents and copper salts. With further development laboratories designed to help smaller companies, along with its secondary formulation and packaging facility in Norfolk, Briar has been continuing its steady trajectory since we spoke with CEO Chris Fazekas, in 2024.
Chris joins us again today to discuss what’s been happening for Briar over the past couple of years. Most notably, he discusses a wastewater reduction project and other eco-friendly operations, occurring at a time when multiple heatwaves and devastating wildfires across the globe are signaling the impact of climate change. “Our historic business base has been relatively static in the last two years,” starts Chris. “We do have long-term contracts, so this is not unusual for a CDMO business of our nature. The last two years have seen inventories being consumed in the distribution channel that built up after the Covid-19 pandemic, but thankfully we are now seeing a return to more normalized procurement patterns.”
However, the business has also seen expansion. Briar is building up its development laboratories, which Chris describes as previously being an ‘under-utilized asset,’ through contract work with smaller organizations. “We’ve been identifying opportunities with smaller start-up companies that have simple lab facilities and are looking to increase their capabilities, optimize production methods, and start the scale-up process,” he says. “Our facilities are ideally suited to working on multi-kilo volumes that can then be transferred to larger commercial facilities, and these relationships will hopefully provide the steppingstone for these opportunities to move to new or existing plants on our site.”
Launch platform
With a packaging line acquired at the end of 2025, the new asset has become part of Briar’s routine and has increased capacity three-fold, giving it a greater deal of automation and higher quality control. Additionally, the company inherited a significant lab capability from its previous owners, which Chris says has been a key launching platform for the start-up organizations it works with via universities. “These labs have been ideal for these organizations as they move from their own small-scale labs, to transferring bench-type reactions to more industrialized processes. We’re extremely fortunate to be so close to the Norwich Research Park (NRP) and the University of East Anglia (UEA), and we regularly attend the NRP’s Enterprise Showcase Days. There’s a lot of innovative work being conducted there and our site can give numerous start-ups a view on the transition from bench chemistry to commercial production facilities – both locally in Norwich, and for other universities.”
Sustainability initiatives
Focusing on environmental initiatives, Chris first reflects on the effect of recent extreme weather, mainly the heatwaves being seen across the UK. “Our crop protection products are undoubtedly linked to the climate and crops being grown – that said, our industry runs in cycles so when one region is impacted by reduced rainfall it is likely that others have above average rainfall, creating a balance,” he explains. “A short-term heatwave or increased rainfall doesn’t tend to impact the demand as much as expected, as the weeds are normally still present at some level and will require being controlled.”
Exploring how it can use water on its 115-acre site, Briar has been working with a local utility provider on its wastewater reduction project, which has led to the effective collection and testing of run-off water before it is used or released – considerably reducing water demand from other sources. “We also have a solar farm onsite, we have upgraded our gas-fired engine to a more modern and efficient system, and we’re in the process of transforming lighting around the site to more energy efficient LED technology,” adds Chris.
As Briar looks ahead to the second half of 2026 and beyond, Chris reveals certain trends he has noticed across the industry at present. “I think working capital has become a bigger issue for most companies over the last couple of years, and we’re seeing this in our business, with companies not holding enough inventory to respond to increased demand,” he discloses. “This is putting pressure across the chain to expedite supply of raw materials or adjustments in shipping schedules to cover demand in a previously un-forecasted market. It also extends to our company from a maintenance perspective, where previously available off-the-shelf mechanical items are now experiencing significant lead times.
“The ever-changing tariff situation is also creating problems, as companies must now consider timings on the changes that could occur, and the recent Middle East conflict has seen a significant upswing in energy costs – this means that, in some cases, we have a more dynamic pricing model to take these costs into account.” Chris describes these situations as becoming ‘the new norm.’ Nevertheless, Briar has every reason to remain positive about the future.
“At the end of this year, one of our plants will complete a long-term contract and will become available for alternative opportunities,” Chris concludes. “The advantage of this multi-purpose plant is that, over the years, it has been used to make several different products. Our team is contacting potential partners to discuss the alternatives for this facility, and we would welcome anyone interested in siting a new product in a multi-step facility.”
