International firm looks local for top security

Long-established firm CTS Security have been given the seal of approval from a local chemicals company after their work transforming the security facilities at their King’s Lynn base.

Huntsman IFS Polyurethanes are based on Station Road, and when their takeover by American multi-national corporation Huntsman required a major overhaul of site facilities, they looked to trusted local traders CTS to make the necessary changes.

“Huntsman did due diligence before they bought IFS but once they’d taken over the company in 2017, security at the site had to be upgraded to meet their worldwide standards – this was one of the first tasks I was given when I joined,” said Katie Delph, Huntsman IFS Polyurethanes’ EHS Manager.

"We're still a small company, with only 27 of us on site, in a low crime area and by Huntsman standards, a low hazard site, but it was still important to get our site up to corporate standards, so we chose CTS, a company we knew we could rely on.

“I was aware of CTS from a previous employment and my own non-working life; and they'd carried out jobs for the old IFS company in the past. As we’re in a rural area, having a local company was very important too, someone close at hand we can call on if needed.”

“Fortunately, whenever we have needed them, like when strong winds caused problems with the power supply, affecting the security equipment, they’ve been able to respond extremely quickly, proving what a good choice that was.”

Huntsman’s standards demanded a lot of upgrades to all aspects of the site, but whatever was asked, CTS delivered to make the working premises more user-friendly and productive in every way.

“The first thing we asked them to do was to supply and install security fencing, to match our existing and extend around the remaining open areas of site.  New vehicle and pedestrian access gates were added to improve traffic segregation; and intercom-controlled barriers were install for HGVs entering and leaving the site,” said Katie.

“We also asked CTS to tighten up security of site access with card readers allowing us to control who is going in and out.

We have a comprehensive network of new CCTV cameras, internal and external, and an intruder alarm system with police response.  The systems can be monitored and reset remotely by staff on their phones, out of hours.”

The upgrade was not just about improving things in the short-term, either. The changes CTS made had future-proofed the Station Road site for some years to come.

“With the controlled access system, we originally chose biometric equipment, but CTS proposed a new EntrySign system which has the added benefits of visitor and contractor management, but currently uses card readers.  However, the new system can be upgraded in the future without the need to replace substantial amounts of hardware. This was a better solution for us in the long term” added Katie.

She admits that Huntsman IFS fine-tuned their requirements several times during the project – but nothing was too much bother for CTS and their staff.

"We changed our minds a bit but at every stage we found CTS staff to be professional, courteous and extremely flexible to our customer requirements. A couple of them were on the site for a few months during the upgrade work and it really felt like they became part of our team,” she said.

And the final verdict from the customer?  “I really can't fault CTS or its staff for the service they supply,” she said.  “They're the experts in this field, we're not, but I felt we could really rely on them and would definitely recommend them."