Director's profile

Nigel Thompson, whose vision and expertise lies behind Urespec, boasts an impressive and extensive wealth of knowledge having over 30 years' experience in the polyurethane industry.

A personal message from the Managing Director

"I graduated as a polymer chemist in 1981 from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), which at that time was an internationally recognised centre of excellence for research specialising in technical and scientific subjects. Since then I have continuously worked in the UK and European CASE market, including research and product development, manufacturing and business growth.

One of my first job roles was working with Morton Thiokol developing a range of sealants for the insulated glass (IG) industry. I later set up a full scale IG sealants manufacturing plant and developed a commercial polysulphide IG sealant for Solaglas (now part of the prestigious Saint-Gobain Group).

In the 1990's I worked as technical manager for Tremco Inc. heading up an important development project with a team of chemists where we successfully worked on finding alternatives to phenyl mercury catalysts. With recent developments on the classification of phenyl mercury, my research and experience in this field is more relevant today than it has ever been.

Commercially, I owe much of my knowledge and expertise to Brian Jones Associates where as an accounts manager I successfully promoted products from key principles including Bayer Polyurethanes, Lyondell and Air Products.

Inspired by the Brian Jones Associates business model, Urespec started in 2007. I believed that the polyurethane manufacturing industry needed the resources and services of an independent niche distributor dedicated to providing the customer with both commercial and technical expertise.

Over recent years there have been growing concerns over the prospective toxicity of some catalysts. Noxious substances are becoming a growing issue worldwide and the presence of heavy metals in the final product has a big impact on its recyclability, preventing polyurethane based elastomers being used in certain market segments.

With this in mind Urespec is responding to current trends by focusing on the next generation of polyurethane systems which will be greener, safer and more sustainable."

Nigel Thompson BSc
Managing Director