CBA News

The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has sold its specialist regulatory compliance company – Regulatory Facilitation Company Limited (ReFaC) – to C.S.B. GmbH (CSB), Krefeld, Germany, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction completed on Monday 4 March 2019.

ReFaC’s clients, in the UK and elsewhere, can use CSB’s REACH and Only Representative (OR) services to ensure their compliance with the Europeans Union’s (EU) chemical regulatory framework. They will also benefit from CSB’s Safety Data Sheet authoring solutions as well as its expertise in the REACH, GHS and Biocide regulations.

As a response to Brexit, CBA had developed a contingency plan to relocate ReFaC to another EU member state to guarantee the continuity of the company’s services.

“We then received an unsolicited approach from C.S.B. GmbH to acquire ReFaC,” said CBA’s Chief Executive, Peter Newport. “This was an ideal solution for ReFaC and its clients. C.S.B. GmbH is a long established company providing regulatory advice and assistance and will continue to provide ReFaC’s full service portfolio to its clients.”

ReFaC was formed in 2006 to provide UK companies with a low cost method of meeting their compliance obligations under the impending REACH legislation. It was formed by the industry, for the industry, with CBA member companies as its original shareholders. The company traded successfully until 2015 when CBA acquired all of the company’s share capital. ReFaC has continued to trade profitably ever since.

Lars Dobbertin, General Manager, C.S.B. GmbH, said, “We are very pleased to acquire ReFaC and its specialist team. We will continue to deliver ReFaC’s high quality compliance services from its UK office to its existing clients selling into EU markets. We are now also in an excellent position to offer clients the full regulatory support for the UK after Brexit. Our plan is to grow the business by helping companies comply with both UK and EU chemical regulations through an enhanced service portfolio.”