BARELY a loaf or bread bun has been baked in the UK this year without the input of speciality chemicals business PennWhite.

The Congleton company also has a hand in production of many glossy magazines and, without its chemical solutions, few of us would be able to buy a cleanly washed crisp salad, use broadband, or be prescribed anti-biotics.

The company still has a virtually non-existent profile outside the niche markets it operates in – but it has a global reach in those markets.

Turning over £5 million a year – up almost 15 per cent on the previous 12 months – it exports its products right around the world, is growing fast, and is looking for larger premises.

It is also a nominee for the HSBC Commercial Banking-sponsored Business of the Year Award and the UK Trade and Investment-backed International Trade Award, part of The Sentinel Business Awards presented in Association with the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce.

PennWhite mixes chemicals, including a wide range of silicones and vegetable oil-based products, for an enormous span of industries.

Managing director John Whitehead said: "The food sector alone accounts for about 50 per cent of our business, which is one reason why our turnover has been growing so rapidly recently.

"In spite of the economic slowdown, supermarkets are doing well and they and their suppliers rely heavily on some of our products.

"For instance, one of our silicone glazes is used in the tins used in just about every bakery, in-store or elsewhere, so that freshly baked bread does not stick to the moulds.

"Others are used – in miniscule proportions – in washing vegetables and salads, to eliminate foaming during the washing.

"Our products are important process aids, but are not present after the washing process.

"But our involvement in industry goes a lot wider than that and I believe our success is due to our ability to deliver on time in packages tailored to the task, unlike some of our competitors who only deal in bulk."

That wider involvement takes in such things as a special silicone solution making it easier to pull telecommunications cables through ducting. In France, the company's products are used by a roof tile manufacturer to make its tile surfaces water and mould resistant and, across Europe, printers use another PennWhite formula to add extra gloss to magazine pages.

Sales to the print industry are another recent growth area, with many firms producing extra glossy promotional material as the economy begins to pick up.

The likes of China, India and other parts of Asia are becoming increasingly important too, and an Iranian drugs company uses PennWhite products exclusively to reduce bubbles in over-the-counter medicines.

Back in the UK, PennWhite supplies formulations to a leading anti-biotic producer, and is standing by to ramp up production if there is increased demand as a consequence of the swine flu pandemic.