Mike Hughes goes on a journey through the 100-year history of BOC on Teesside - from George to Rob.
You get the feeling that if Rob Robson ever got the chance to meet George Kynman they would have got on really well – maybe sharing a steaming mug of tea in Night Watchman George’s hut as he prepared to clock off after his shift and Teesside Business Manager Rob was driving into the car park to start his day.
The cuppa would have brought them together, but what separates them is a century of BOC on Teesside which began with George, who clocked on for his first shift on the 3rd February 1923. Shortly after his first day, BOC Teesside delivered its first oxygen in three large flasks to ICI. They were collected by ICI staff, put on a handcart and rolled away to be used.
With the onset of World War Two, BOC built elaborate remote-control facilities into air raid shelters to keep the plants running. This kept staff relatively safe, whilst ensuring the supply of vital gases for key industries during the heavy bombing of the Teesside area. In 1957 BOC began production on its current Tees Dock Road site, due to the increasing demand from steel and chemical customers for industrial gas.
It has now gone on to build four plants across two sites on Teesside, including the UK’s largest independently owned hydrogen production site.
So here’s an awkward question….. how does it do what it does?
Well, the company is the largest provider of industrial, medical and special gases in the UK and Ireland, supplying thousands of different types of gas, and gas mixtures to more than 400,000 customers across a range of industries.
Through a network of production facilities, distribution centres and retail stores, BOC supplies compressed, bulk and pipeline gases and chemicals alongside the engineering and equipment you need to make it all work efficiently.
The wider views is that it is part of the Linde group, whose industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to hydrogen for clean fuels.
As Business Manager Rob Robson knows every inch of the 80-mile pipeline network which carries BOC gases around the region.
He told me: “We've got two operational sites, we've got the Teesport site that's just over my shoulder as we speak and that produces gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon and then a sister plant that sits over at Port Clarence, which is a hydrogen producing facility.
“The pipeline supplies are predominantly for industrial customers based at Wilton. Billingham and around Seal Sands and North Tees. Some of the gases we cool down and have in liquid form and we put them in the back of a road tanker to deliver to customers that aren't connected to the pipeline.”
Rob is clearly as devoted to gas as any sane man could be. A few years ago a kid running in from the front door saying ‘mam, the gasman’s here!’ would be referring to a chap who was going to read the meter. Now it would probably be Rob keen to explain what Argon is.
He knows every molecule of his industry, and its importance to the region and can’t contain his enthusiasm. Forget the 80 miles of pipeline, Rob being Rob is the real asset for BOC on Teesside.
Now that the rest of the world is starting to appreciate the role hydrogen will be playing in our futures, he is – literally - in his element.
Last year bp and BOC completed a detailed joint feasibility study exploring designs for a hydrogen distribution and supply network for road freight in the UK and are now exploring opportunities to collaborate to design and deploy an initial network for a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in the UK.
Jim Mercer, Business President of BOC UK & Ireland said: “If we are to meet net zero targets, tackling road freight emissions needs to happen now and BOC is proud to bring its extensive experience and expertise to this collaboration with bp, as we look at opportunities to deliver a network for the UK’s Heavy Goods Vehicle market.”
Richard Harding, a senior vice president at bp said: “Our customers in hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty transport, are demanding low carbon alternative fuels. They need and want to decarbonise. Cutting HGV emissions requires new infrastructure, and by bringing together our technical expertise, understanding of the supply chain, and insights from our customers, I am confident that together we can do more to drive change at pace for our customers.”
For now many industries deals in grey hydrogen, but he has big plans to help change that.
“Grey hydrogen is where most of the world is now as far as hydrogen production is concerned,” he tells me.
“It takes methane and puts it into a process called a steam methane reformer. That produces hydrogen but what happens is the Carbon Dioxide that's created as part of that process of making hydrogen is currently just vented to the atmosphere. And if it's vented to atmosphere, that gives it the ‘grey’ tag.
“So what you're looking to do is create a low carbon hydrogen solution going forward. So we're in the same government competition as BP and others so what we're looking to do is to retrofit a capture facility on the back of our hydrogen plant that will prevent all that CO2 going into the environment. And then as one of the key emmiters, we'll push it into the capture network that's been developed on Teesside by Net Zero Teesside and the East Coast Cluster.
“Within BOC, we've now got over 100 years of experience dealing with hydrogen so for us, it's a core product and nothing particularly new because we've had a facility pushing hydrogen under the Tees for 20 years. So it's a product we're familiar with which means there are pretty exciting times ahead.
“If you plotted the rise of Teesside through the expense of the steel works and the growth of Wilton, that runs parallel to the growth that we've seen in BOC in the demand for industrial gases and now we've got technologies within the bigger Linde group around decarbonisation so I think we're well placed.
“And the thing that often people forget is that a lot of these new hydrogen facilities actually need quite a lot of oxygen, which sort of brings us back almost full circle again with the oxygen as important as hydrogen in the equation.”
He’s right – BOC was here from the beginning and by being so agile and knowing its markets so well, it has remained a key player and a century on is still a vital voice in the green energy conversation, connecting the whole region.
Rob sums it up well: “Unless you come from the area. I think it's hard to appreciate that while we're all individual businesses here, there has always been a spirit of working together. Anybody local knows that Teesside has had its fair share of adversity over the years with the closure of the steelworks and the demise of ICI, but it really feels now I think that we're in a place where most people you speak to are pretty optimistic about what's going to happen next.
“For me, that’s especially important for the younger people starting a career. You don't have to leave Teesside to do that any more because the activity and the action is actually going to be right here.
“BOC has its own apprentice scheme, which is great, and we have an enhanced graduate scheme and some strong links with Teesside University. So every year we're taking undergraduates from the University on their gap year to give them an experience of industry from our own team. That can make quite a difference, as most people here have been at BOC long time – I’ve been here 37 years myself and I think that all says something about the company and the culture.
“I was born in Saltburn and have lived in Redcar most of my life. I started in British Steel as an apprentice and did four years there and worked a couple of years at the sinter plant.
“My dad joined BOC in 1966 and I used to look across and see the plant and thought it looked pretty clean and tidy so I went there in 1986 with the idea of giving it a try for 12 months….
“So I'm a strong believer in the whole apprentice system because it is so rewarding to see them learning the skills and seeing BOC as a company that has got a pretty exciting future. Why would you want to go anywhere else when you can see that senior managers in the company have progressed through an apprentice and graduate scheme?”
Rob is a perfect advert for his company and his region. He has helped build both and sees a bright future for future Robs and Robertas.
“There is so much going on here that we people can tap into,” he says.
“If you look at the history of Teesside, it's really been steel and heavy chemicals, but now some of the big players on Teesside who bring the decarbonisation opportunities are leading the way.
“And then we’re optimistic about attracting new businesses and you start to see the bigger story unfolding – I mean, who'd have thought we would have two lithium refineries? That would have been unheard of five years ago.
“Then the Freeport will also attract new investment in the area as well and all that means that the good thing for us personally at BOC is that most processes need industrial gases in some shape or form, so over time our customer base will change and always play an absolutely crucial part in that next generation of businesses.
“We've had some politicians visit say over the years, and the best way I've described BOC to them is that if you think about the heart if Teesside, then our pipelines and services are the veins.
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“I tell them that if BOC ever stopped, most of Teesside would stop as well because the gases that we supply - especially things like nitrogen and hydrogen - are so vital to our customers. They rightly come to expect them 24/7 and 365 days a year It's a bit like turning the tap on and expecting water.”
Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen is a big fan of BOC as well, saying: “The company has long been a key player in the chemicals and processing sector here in Teesside, employing many hundreds of local people and supporting local industry over many years. As Teesside establishes itself as the go-to place to pioneer net zero technology like CCUS and hydrogen in the home, not only are we welcoming new investment to create jobs and opportunities for local people, but firms like BOC who’ve long been committed to our region have a big role to play too. 100 years in operation is a remarkable milestone to reach and I look forward to the many more that are still to come.”
But it is the Robs who keep the veins working and the heart pumping.
He adds: “You've got to get up and have that bit of passionate to want to do your work. For many years with Teesside being on the decline, I used to sit in lots of meetings and hear about things happening in other parts of the country.
“But what's really great now is that the quarterly business briefing that goes out to all the employees in BOC always has a mention of Teesside, usually on the first or second slide, and I’m sat there thinking, Yeah, this is great.”
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