Our Commitment to being the UK’s most Reliable Salt Supplier
For most organisations, salt is an uninspiring necessity. So it’s one purchase that you want to be able to take for granted. Without giving it too much thought, you want it to be there when you need it. And you want your salt supplier to get on and deliver it when you ask for it.
Because salt is almost always an essential to the running of our organisations. Whether the application is for animal feed or as an ingredient in the food manufacture. Or when it is used as a process chemical, for example in softening water to enable the safe operation of boilers. Or when paths and car parks need de-icing.
The PureSalt team are committed to building lasting relationships with our customers. Which is why we go the extra mile to maintain supply to our customers in even the most challenging circumstances. So that you can leave your salt supply to your salt supplier!
What makes it so challenging to be a reliable salt supplier?
It starts with a strong economic pressure to hold minimal levels of stock (which is also why the UK always runs out of de-icing salt in a really cold winter). Because salt supply is largely a logistics industry. Brine is converted to dry salt (and packed if necessary), to reduce transportation costs. In order to deliver it back to customers who will generally turn it back into brine. It is one of the world’s most traded commodities by weight, but also one of the lowest value per tonne commodities. With logistics accounting for the majority of cost. Which puts pressure on the supply chain to hold as little stock as they can get away with.
But salt is also a challenging material to produce steadily and reliably, because salt is abrasive and salt dust is corrosive. There are just two white salt manufacturers in the UK, both producing continuously from plants that include some ageing equipment. Major shutdowns – both planned and unplanned – are inevitable. And shutdowns often follow spells of reduced capacity production, so that manufacturer stocks of finished product are already low.
Imported products might provide an alternative, with hundreds of producers worldwide. But high logistics costs mean that importers still only account for a small share of the UK salt market (mostly for low specification, low quality applications). And the importers have to rely on long supply-chains, that are vulnerable to disruption. But for cost reasons, they hold minimal levels of stock in the UK.
As a result, supply disruptions are common. With the lead times for some products repeatedly stretching out to 4-6 weeks.
What makes PureSalt a more reliable salt supplier?
Fortunately the PureSalt team have an exceptional depth of experience in the challenges facing manufacturers and importers alike. This understanding – along with daily communication – enables us to anticipate problems and implement contingencies. With the added strength of having close working relationships with all the key suppliers, we deliver solutions where others can’t. By continuing to meet our customers’ needs in even the most trying of circumstances, PureSalt has established a reputation as the UK’s most reliable salt suppliers.
