Ian McKernan and Paul Barnard are the chief executive and non-executive chairman of Molecular Products, a company planning to double turnover in five years  Molecular Products, which employs 140 people, is a global supplier of carbon dioxide absorbents and filters, and oxygen generation for the anaesthetic, submarine and aerospace markets. The business received funding of £4m from the Business Growth Fund in 2014.  Our business dates back to 1924 when it was Medical Practitioners United Drug Company, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical chemicals in Stratford, east London.  My father Bill bought the business in 1973 and moved it to Thaxted, Essex, acquiring a manufacturing operation that produced carbon dioxide absorbents. I’ve worked there for 30 years and took over running the business with my brother Andrew in the mid-Nineties.  Andrew is a group director and general manager of the UK business. He and I own the majority of the company, with our siblings Ruth and Stuart also holding shares.  We have grown the business internationally, building on its strong reputation in the medical and military markets, setting up manufacturing in Boulder, Colorado, and opening technical sales offices in China, India and Australia.  “It’s a serious business but it’s a mistake to take yourself too seriously”  We moved to Harlow five years ago and have invested more than £5m in the new site and bigger US premises. We funded this from bank borrowings but wanted to replace short-term debt funding with longer-term equity investment. That resulted in the BGF investment, which took us into new territory, as the company had been 100pc owned by the family for 15 years.  Paul’s arrival as non-executive chairman has been extremely helpful. I met him first in early 2014 when he was one of a number of potential chairmen on BGF’s roster and he stood out as by far the best fit.  He has relevant experience in international, industrial companies and in dealing with private equity owners. The personal chemistry is really important. I think that Paul and I work together very well considering we come from different backgrounds.  Molecular Products had turnover of £20m when BGF invested. It is £24m now and we want to get to £40m over five years. If you’re trying to do that, it’s important to have people in the team with experience of how larger corporates operate.  The plan is to increase our reach, add new products, re-engineer some of our manufacturing to drive productivity and possibly make targeted acquisitions.  Paul brings experience in those areas. He brings insight from larger companies that helps in contractual discussions and negotiations.  I also think it’s really important we have some fun. It’s a serious business but it’s a mistake to take yourself too seriously and there’s some humour in our relationship.  Paul’s a great counterfoil to my long-term knowledge of the business. I can be quite reflective. There’s a good balance with Paul’s drive to make sure we deliver from our strong positions.  My background is in engineering, fluids and chemistry, working for Westland Helicopters, Loctite and the American group ITW.  Over 14 years at ITW, my scope grew from its UK subsidiary to a group of 14 businesses across Europe, North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Russia.  I led acquisitions, start-ups, major growth initiatives, capital investment programmes and product and brand development initiatives, helping group turnover to grow to more than $300m.  On leaving the business in 2013, I looked to the private equity experience I had gained from helping dental implants business Neoss with a round of seed funding and was chosen as a potential non-executive in BGF’s talent network.  I like BGF because it is all about growth. It thought I might be a good fit for Molecular Products when it was undertaking its investment in the company, so I met Ian and we got on very well.  “We like to talk issues out. We don’t hide from difficult discussions”  I think the chemistry of working relationships is really important and immediately we were able to have very open, candid, frank discussions. I felt within a few minutes of meeting Ian that he would be somebody I would be able to work with and hoped he would feel the same.  I was attracted to what Ian and the management team were trying to do with the business and found Ian highly capable, focused and very knowledgeable about the business. I thought this was a place where I could bring my experience to really add value.  My input at the company varies depending on what is going on but we have a board meeting every month and typically I spend one or two more days a month in the business. Then I will probably speak to Ian at least twice a week on the phone for about half an hour and sometimes in other short calls as well.  I like to have small, informal and frequent engagements that support more formal board meetings and other meetings on topics such as new product development marketing and finance. Ian will typically email me with a list to discuss at 8.30am on a Friday and I will email back with a couple of things I want to add or I might send a list for him to add things to.  That’s how we work together but it’s not overly formalised. We just pick up the phone to each other. We’re very similar in lots of ways. We’re both pretty non-confrontational and like to talk issues out. We don’t hide from difficult discussions. We’re also both very considered. Ian is technically very competent and has a deep market understanding for the business.  I can probably bring more of an overview and a strategic oversight into the business and help to keep the organisation on-point and focused on priorities. I think we have a great relationship.
Molecular Products is hoping to double its turnover in five years. Find out how Business Growth Fund helped the company get to where it is