Watts Blake Bearne & Co plc and Sibelco Chemicals Ltd were merged on October 1st 2001 to form WBB Minerals which, it is estimated, will have annual sales revenue of around £200m with its total sales volume of around 11m tonnes/year comprising approximately equal amounts of white firing clays, red firing clays and industrial sands. WBB Minerals operates over 30 sites, with facilities in 10 countries across Europe. It supplies more than 6000 customers and two-thirds of total sales are generated by exports to 60 countries worldwide. The new company is also better placed than ever to offer customers complete raw materials solutions. They will also benefit from increased technical support from its expanded Mineral Development Centre in Staffordshire. The firm has 1700 employees worldwide.
