The Sunday Times International Track 200 ranks the UK's private companies with the fastest growing international sales, measured over the latest two years of available accounts. Cornelius Group's international sales grew 26% a year from £5.3m in 2010 to £8.5m in 2012.
Founded in 1935, Cornelius distributes industrial chemicals to a broad range of industries, as well as supplying chemical ingredients for health and personal care products. Based in Hertfordshire, the company lists leading global consumer brands among its customers, and has offices in France, Poland, China and India.
Cornelius has been operating in Poland since 2007, and last year established the formal Cornelius Polska subsidiary. Continued growth is expected in Poland, Germany and France, which have strong cosmetics and food and pharma industries, while Cornelius Specialties Ltd, manufacturer and exporter of high quality specialty monomers, oligomers and polymers, cites buoyant sales performance in Japan and the US.
Managing director David Brown said: ‘The Cornelius business model and how we service the expectations of our customers and suppliers seems to be a real differentiator in our target export markets and is really facilitating our growth. We intend to continue broadening our global coverage while continuing to grow and diversify in our domestic markets of the UK and Ireland.’
