OVERVIEW

Alchema' s core operation is based on the supply and recycling of chemical etchant solutions used in the Electronics Industry (PCB manufacture).

The etchant solutions are used to strip away surplus copper from the printed circuit boards resulting in a spent etchant saturated with copper salts. This is returned to Alchema and processed chemically to regenerate the fresh echant and provide copper products which are used mainly in the wood preservative industry . This process is consistent with Alchema's Environmental strategy of complete recycling.

The company's expertise extends to both chemical plant and process design as well as manufacture gained through its work with etchants and copper salts. This has been extended to investigate other materials linked with the Electronics Industry, most noteably Nickel and Tin.

Alchema has extended its environmental commitment more recently to the recovery of Mercury from a variety of waste streams. A separate Company has been established, Quicksilver Recovery Services Limited, also based at Berwick, for this purpose.

Alchema holds both ISO 14001 and 9001:2000 accreditations as well as appropriate Environmental Authorisations for all its processes.