THE gusts can blow strong at Boulby.

Whipping off the North Sea, it’s ICL Fertilizers’ mine that regularly bears the brunt of their force.

Nestled in a valley at the bottom of Boulby bank, the business sits close to Staithes, where east Cleveland ends and North Yorkshire starts, and is a vital source of employment for more than 1,200 people.

Such weather for those workers, including the many that venture underground, is merely the norm.

But for David Zvida, the firm’s managing director and general manager, it’s all a little different.

The 53-year-old is originally from Israel, and previously oversaw works as ICL’s senior vice-president of operations at its Dead Sea works.

He now lives near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, and is learning the hard way about the UK weather systems.

However, he’s also more than intent on delivering his own winds of change.

He said: “I’ve been here five months, but the time has flown by.

“Potash is still potash, but the processes are different, and the people and the culture are different here too.

“Coming from Israel, it’s also a change when you look out of the window.

“Here you have the green fields and the sea with the ships going past, whereas in Israel the environment was a little browner and there were a few more camels.

“But there are big opportunities here to grow and I’m undertaking a business review to understand where we have to place our efforts.

“This is a big business, and we must look at where we devote our energy and time.

“I’m still meeting managers and engineers in one-to-one talks, finding out what they think.

“There are areas where we can improve.

“We need to increase capacity, and we will do all we can to do that, but we also need to look at where we can lower our costs, while improving our yield.

“We also need to increase selling on all the products we have.

“If we combine those together, we will be in a good position.”

As we sit in his office, the winds remain unrelenting, and have forced staff to come to the rescue of a row of flags being battered near the gatehouse.

A handful of workers, dressed in bright orange clothing as they move around the site, brave the conditions on their way past the window.

Tucked away in the warmth of his room, Mr Zvida, who is wearing a white shirt and silver tie, continues to outline his plans.

They are bold ambitions.

He is intent on making a definitive mark on the site, which is known mainly by locals under its previous moniker, Cleveland Potash.

Standing as east Cleveland’s largest employer, with the vast majority of its workforce living within a 12 mile radius, it operates the UK’s only potash mine, producing more than a million tonnes of potash for fertilizers and more than half a million tonnes of salt every year.

The firm previously announced it will invest £38m, backed by a significant slice of Government Regional Growth cash, to support a project mining the fertiliser mineral polyhalite.

Mr Zvida, who grew up in Israel’s Tel Aviv area, said the company hopes to be producing up to 600,000 tonnes of polyhalite by 2018, armed by previous research claiming potential deposits of more than one billion tonnes lie under the potash it already mines.

However, he also revealed the work will be complemented by a near £50m investment in a granulation plant.

That will take polyhalite from a powder form and process it into granules, giving farmers a preferred substance to develop crops, and the firm further strength in the marketplace.

Mr Zvida said ICL already has an advantage with its existing infrastructure, with the focus now firmly on highlighting the product’s benefits.

He said: “Polyhalite is the future and is a big product for us.

“We did 100,000 tonnes last year, but hope to take that up to 600,000 tonnes by 2018.

“It’s a bit like the chicken and the egg.

“You need the product to sell, but need to sell the product.

“We have our own reserves, and are low cost entity because our infrastructure already exists.

“We hope to be ready in February next year with the investment in the mine, the surface facilities and the dock to start increasing production.

“Then it’s about the third phase and extending the investment with the granulation plant.

“That will improve the quality of our product and our processes.

“It’s the beginning of something and I’m looking forward to it; we have, what we say in Israel, a pink future.

“It is a new product, and a lot of people do not switch from one fertiliser to the other very quickly.

“We need to work with the farmers and show them the benefits, because it’s all about building a new market.

“It is about educating people and we will be working on building a good relationship with our customers.

“It is a win-win situation, but it will take a little time.”

The project comes against the backdrop of Sirius Minerals’ plans to build a £1.5bn polyhalite mine under the North York Moors National Park, near Whitby, which has stalled due to environmental concerns.

Bosses at that firm are confident it will come to fruition, and be a viable rival to ICL, but Mr Zvida said he was only focused on his company’s aims.

He added: “We are not afraid of competition, but we have our markets and our customers.

“What is important for me is what we are doing here and how we are looking after our future.

“We know what we do and believe in it.

“We know we can handle it and will be profitable for us because we know what we are going to spend.”

PANEL: WHAT IS POLYHALITE?

Polyhalite is a unique mineral salt, which can be used as a fertilizer

It is made up of calcium, magnesium and potassium sulphates, which are all key to supporting crop development

It is also low in chlorine, meaning it suitable for use on chlorine-sensitive crops

The Boulby mine starting mining in the early 1970s, with potash first detected in 1939