Palace secures acquisition of former Norcros Adhesives brands

Palace Chemicals has cemented its market-leading position in the tiling sector by acquiring several brands formerly owned by Norcros Adhesives.

The move follows the collapse of Stoke-on-Trent based Norcros Adhesives earlier this year with the loss of 70 jobs.

As part of the acquisition deal, Palace has taken on a number of Norcros Adhesives’ popular brands, including Rock-Tite, Pro Gyp-Base, Ultim8 and NX.

Palace Chemicals, the UK’s leading independent manufacturer of tiling, construction and DIY products, has also ensured brand continuity and client confidence by appointing key former employees of Norcros Adhesives.

Jon Hall, who clocked up 10 years at Norcros Adhesives, joins Palace as a Technical Sales Manager, Rob Kyle, who spent 19 years at Norcros Adhesives, has been appointed as Key Account Director, while Bethan Bright has been newly appointed with various sales responsibilities across the Palace product range.

The three new recruits will work with Commercial Director Steve Ball and Sales Director Simon Clough to help propel Palace Chemicals towards its next exciting phase of growth, particularly its targeted expansion in the DIY market.

Steve said:

“The new team members will no doubt help move the business forward, with their unbeatable combination of experience, contacts and knowledge.

“We’re delighted to be able to offer these roles following the sad closure of Norcros Adhesives. The move will provide that added bond with clients of the Norcros Adhesives brands that we’ve acquired.

“The new appointees will be joining an already successful and capable customer-facing team and will collectively help us continue to demonstrate the capability and quality that Palace Chemicals has proven to the market for well over 40 years.”

The former Norcros Adhesives brands now under the Palace umbrella will add weight to the Liverpool firm’s stable of products, which already includes more than 250 items.

Rock-Tite is a system for fixing porcelain tiles in external locations; Pro Gyp-Base enables rapid tiling over anhydrite screeds; Ultim8 is a brand of ready-mixed tile adhesives; and NX is a popular mixed range of tile adhesives.

Rob Kyle, 58, who has spent 44 years in the tiling industry, said:

“I’m always up for a challenge – challenges are what makes the world go round. A challenge at 18 is the same as the challenge at 58 – you’ve got to have something to get your teeth into.”