Case Study

Krystalshield & Shield Chemicals

Krystalshield & Shield Chemicals is a privately owned and locally based chemical and coating manufacturer and applicator located in Campbelltown, New South Wales.

What sets you apart from other cleaning companies and products?

Krystalshield & Shield Chemicals are innovators and creators of nano protective coatings and environmentally sustainable chemicals and services that improve the quality and durability of surfaces, such as floors, tiles, glass, stainless steel, automotive and more. Our coatings and chemicals help to reduce your overall maintenance, renovation and cleaning costs. And from a facilities and asset management perspective, there is also clear evidence that they increase the service life of treated substrates and help to maintain asset values by keeping aesthetic appearance.

Not only do we make products we also use them! So, when we create a chemical or a coating we do so with the end user in mind. Our initial creation process for every product starts with us asking – “how can we make it safer and easier to use?” and our credo is “Smarter not Harder”.

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Krystalshield started out as a business that applied protective coatings, so we used many of the cleaning chemicals and coatings that were available in the market. We found that most of them either didn’t do what they claimed to do or they didn’t work as good as we needed them to – not to mention that some were just plain dangerous. Our business ethos for safer products and applications provided the obvious path to move into the design and manufacturing of chemicals and coatings.

Initially, we outsourced toll manufacturers to mix our formulas. We then wanted to have one of our products certified with GECA, but our toll manufacturers did not want to go through the stringent process. So we searched around New South Wales and Victoria for those that would, but after 12 months of rejection, we saw that the only way to achieve GECA certification was to set up our own manufacturing factory, which we did in May 2016.

We quickly gained positive recognition from our customers and we built an enviable reputation for making clever products. The outstanding success of our products has now allowed us to set up a much larger more sustainable operation in Campbelltown. And we now have a range of products certified under GECA’s Cleaning Products standard (CPv2.2ii-2012).

In our new premises not only will we manufacture our own products, but we will also open our doors to other likeminded individuals that have a unique product that they want to certify with GECA but haven’t got the manufacturing plant to do so.

Why did you choose to get GECA certification?

Two words, sustainable and accountable! GECA means that and a lot more. When people buy a product that is GECA certified, they know that it is better for the environment, has a lower impact on human health and has been ethically made. We choose GECA because we believe in being sustainable and saw it as a perfect partnership to be in.

How important is certification to you?

Certification is very important to us. We believe in independent third-party assessment and continue to educate our customers on its importance in our society.

What’s changed for you as a result of either going through the certification process or since achieving GECA certification?

We have embraced the environmental social responsibility mantra! Since we achieved certification we have been searching for different ingredients that fit the GECA standards to replace other ingredients for our non-GECA certified products. We would like to think that one day in the near future a high percentage of the products we manufacture would have GECA certification.

What do you think are the biggest sustainability challenges for your industry right now?

Lack of education and understanding of what being sustainable is about. We find that when we meet with customers some have been misinformed about what it means to be sustainable. Others have been scared off because of the “premium ” pricing. However, once we are able to engage and show them the benefits of our products and how they can make their job easier, the initial price hurdle quickly goes away.