Client Background

When Ian Robinson, Managing Director at WDP, needed a trustworthy chemical manufacturer that could revamp their formula and take their product to new heights, ReAgent delivered on all fronts due to our experience, quality, capacity, and our unwavering commitment to our customers.

The formulation originated in the mid-nineties in South Africa, when a father stumbled upon a chlorine-free water treatment completely by accident. The biocidal properties of some minerals he’d used had helped treat and clear his family’s pool. 

Once this was discovered, he patented the formula, and looked for help distributing it. That’s where WDP stepped in, helping with global distribution of this new product. 

But as it turned out, the formulation could do much more than clean swimming pools. The mineral content of the product was also effective against viruses, and the company began looking at how it could be used to purify drinking water as well as recreational water.

Business Objectives

Water Development Program (WDP) is revolutionising the concept of water treatments all over the world. Their cutting-edge formulation is not only able to remove hazardous chemicals, like chlorine, and replace them with non-hazardous products, it also has efficacy as a dermatological spray,  and even the potential to change the way a country drinks. This made it an incredibly valuable cleaning chemical for manufacturing and application around the world.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. A family rift within the founding company, coupled with the loss of key contracts triggered by shifts in government policy, created significant instability. At the same time, the product quality began to suffer due to issues at the manufacturing facilities they had been relying on across South Africa and mainland Europe. 

Faced with these mounting challenges, WDP made the strategic decision to search for a new chemical manufacturer closer to home in the UK, aiming to regain control, improve quality standards, and secure a more reliable supply chain.

Luckily, they were able to overcome all of these with sheer determination, a revolutionary water treatment product, and ReAgent’s technical expertise in the water treatment chemicals sector and manufacturing capabilities.

Why WDP Chose ReAgent

WDP MD Ian met ReAgent’s sales manager at a trade show, and spoke about what he was looking for. Ian said, “I wanted to improve the product’s formula and also reduce the amount of acid in the product. Not every manufacturer is keen to work with acid in a formulation, but it didn’t faze ReAgent, and so we soon started working together on the product.”

At first, ReAgent started by creating small batches, frequently checking that the right levels of mineral content were being maintained. We were confident that we could help WDP come up with an alternative product that would replace the one they had been working with.

Creating a New & Improved Formula

Over the course of a year, ReAgent and WDP committed to a cycle of testing and modifying until we came up with a product that exceeded everyone’s expectations. 

One of the biggest challenges when developing the new formula was reducing the amount of acid. Thanks to ReAgent’s knowledgeable staff, we solved this by using mineral salts, which are purer, more consistent, and more soluble than the lumps of minerals that were originally being used.

With hydrochloric acid removed from the formulation, leaving behind only a very small amount of nitric acid, the product became more accessible to ship, safer to handle, and allowed WDP to reach new heights as a business and go from strength to strength.

The Results

Ian and the team at WDP were incredibly impressed with how ReAgent worked:

“We now have an even better, non-hazardous product that we are in complete control of, thanks to the non-disclosure agreement in place with the ReAgent team. 

“The only problem? The product lasts too long! Because of how effective it is, you only need a small amount to get results.”

The revised formulation is so effective that it has an additional positive side effect: When used, it actually flushes biofilm out of a water system. This is an added benefit because biofilm is a hotbed for bacteria and potential viruses, like Legionnaires, and it builds up inside pipework because chlorine isn’t able to break it down, but WDP’s wonder product definitely can.

With plans to develop an alcohol-free dermatological hand sanitiser spray, and their products currently being used and tested across West Africa with hopes of helping various countries become chlorine-free, the future is bright for WDP.

Working With ReAgent

According to Ian, ReAgent were the natural choice thanks to our knowledgeable staff and decades of experience:

“It’s all about relationships, and I trust them. We could work together and nothing was too much trouble. They were happy to keep modifying and tweaking. Some companies you work with have a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude, but with ReAgent, everything’s possible.

WDP’s partnership with ReAgent has been built on trust, support, and shared commitment. When moving from their previous French supplier, the company faced cash flow challenges, but ReAgent’s understanding and flexibility helped them navigate these difficulties with confidence:

“ReAgent was very understanding and they supported us. You have to have that relationship with a supplier through the good times and the bad times: You stick together.

Alongside this, our quality standards has given WDPthe reassurance that every aspect of supply, quality, and compliance is handled to the highest standard:

“It makes my job a lot easier knowing that we’ve got an ISO-certified factory working with us. They tick all the boxes as a supplier.”