ReFaC Becomes Operational

August 2006

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Whyte Group, Ltd. together with other chemical distribution and manufacturing companies is establishing a specialized company to handle the implementation of REACH.  ReFaC – the REACH Facilitation Company for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) – received a green light on July 11, 2006 when a meeting of prospective shareholders and customers expressed their support for the continued development of the initiative.  ReFaC will become operational in early 2007

While the initial work in the development of ReFaC is being undertaken by the British Chemical Distributors and Traders Association (BCDTA), ReFaC will be an independent company managed by the industry for the industry and is being designed to provide members with a range of cost-effective solutions to REACH compliance.  Melvyn Whyte, Managing Director of Whyte Chemicals and the Whyte Group, and Chairman of BCDTA’s REACH Task Force, said, “We are very pleased by the positive reaction to the ReFaC concept.  Smaller firms are clearly very concerned about the financial and administrative burden REACH will involve and support the idea of a low-cost, industry-based solution - for example, we propose that initial fees for pre-registration will also include the basic fees for full REACH registration. Overall, we are now in a position to move the ReFaC business proposal forward.”

ReFaC will be based in the UK but it plans to operate on a pan-European basis and even worldwide, across all sectors of the chemical industry.  The company will not act as a helpdesk or brokerage; instead it will focus on operating at the sharp end delivering product registration for a number of companies for a single substance or preparation, and will act as a single point of contact with EU agencies.

“ReFaC customers will include chemical producers, distributors, service providers, downstream users and, under certain conditions, trade associations.  We have already held discussions with the national associations for chemical distributors in Italy and France to establish a co-operative framework.  ReFaC will become a pan-European intermediary – bringing together businesses registering the same substance to promote the pooling of data and other forms of co-operation,” said Whyte.

Whyte said that after having Reach imposed, it was now best if the industry managed and owned the implementation. “Just because everybody, MEPs and EU governments, is sick and tired of Reach, it is no excuse to lumber industry with a scientifically unjustified, unworkable and destructive regulatory framework.”

Any shareholder that has committed over a specified investment level will be entitled to access the services of ReFaC, which will help with pre-registration requirements and formation of consortia once registrants are listed for a specific chemical. ReFaC will also liaise with the relevant evaluating member state competent authority and arrange test programs and negotiate on behalf of shareholders. Services will be charged out at a minimal fee depending on the chemical hazard, volume and work involved.

For more information about ReFac (services offered or investment opportunities), please call 0208 371 3903.

IMPORTANT CHANGES IN REACH CUT THE BURDEN - Willy Bach, UK minister with responsibility for chemicals, has said that the deal hammered out on Reach at the end of 2005 included important changes that would reduce the burden on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Speaking at last week’s conference on Reach and its impact on SMEs, Bach cited the strengthened role and use of exposure categories to facilitate communication in the supply chain, the reduced cost of registration in the 10-100 tonne band and reduced fees for SMEs.