CHEM UK 2026
20 – 21 May 2026Meet DEKRA Process Safety
Join DEKRA Process Safety at CHEMUK 2026, the UK’s leading event for the chemical, process engineering and formulated product industries.
This year, we will be showcasing how we help organisations understand, reduce and manage process safety risk across the asset lifecycle. Our team will also be launching a new Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmospheres Maturity Benchmark, designed to help businesses understand how effectively they manage explosive and dangerous substances risk across their sites, operations and governance.
Benchmark your DSEAR and ATEX maturity
Visitors to the DEKRA stand can complete a short 5–8 minute maturity assessment focused on how hazardous substances risk is currently managed across their organisation.
By taking part, you can receive an immediate high-level maturity snapshot during the event and gain post-event anonymised benchmarking against wider industry peers and trends. The aim is to help organisations move beyond isolated assessments and audits, identify where gaps exist, and turn findings into clear, proportionate action.
Book a maturity assessment slot here or visit us at Stand C34 during CHEMUK.
The challenges we will be discussing
Across the chemical and process industries, we regularly see organisations dealing with similar high-impact challenges, including DSEAR compliance consistency, dust explosion and reaction hazards, legacy hazardous area classification, ageing assessments, functional safety and OT cyber risk, competency gaps, governance issues and the need to turn technical findings into practical improvement plans.
Our approach is practical, proportionate and regulator-ready, supporting both day-to-day compliance and complex, high-hazard operations.
Our team at CHEMUK
You will be able to meet specialists from across DEKRA Process Safety, including Craig Thomson, Kari Montgomery, Henna Masood, Nikesh Shah, Will Cowley, Jon Wiggins and Dr Stephen Rowe.
Whether you need specific technical guidance or want to review your wider process safety strategy, our team will be available throughout the event.
Speaker spotlight: Jon Wiggins
Cyber Risk as a Process Safety Hazard
Jon Wiggins, Technical Manager, Functional Safety and Cyber Security at DEKRA Process Safety, will be speaking as part of the CHEMUK conference programme.
As operational technology becomes more connected, cyber risk is no longer just an IT issue. In this session, Jon will explore how cyber incidents can escalate into real-world process failures, why “air-gapped” systems can create a false sense of security, and how to take a practical, risk-based approach to managing OT cyber risk before it becomes a physical event.
Stage: Stage 4
Date: Wednesday, 20th May
Time: 10:15am - 10:30am
Date: Wednesday, 20th May
Time: 10:15am - 10:30am
Panel session: Craig Thomson
Reducing Your Regulatory Burden
We are pleased to announce that Craig Thomson, Head of Sales and Business Development, DEKRA Process Safety, will be joining an expert panel discussion at CHEMUK on “Reducing Your Regulatory Burden.”
As regulatory frameworks continue to evolve post-Brexit, navigating divergence, convergence and alignment remains a major challenge for the chemicals industry. Chaired by Caroline Raine, the session will explore what regulatory change means in practice, not just in theory.
Craig will share DEKRA’s perspective on standards and the practicalities of aligning with EU regulations, offering real-world insight into how businesses can stay compliant while reducing unnecessary regulatory burden. He will be joined by Bill Atkinson from the Solvents Industry Association, Eleanor Grimes from Lisam and Elaine McGavin from the Chemical Business Association.
If you are responsible for regulatory compliance, business operations or risk management, this is a discussion not to miss.
Stage: Stage 1
Date: Wednesday, 20th May
Time: 15:00 – 16:00
Date: Wednesday, 20th May
Time: 15:00 – 16:00
How DEKRA Process Safety supports industry
At CHEMUK, we will be discussing how DEKRA supports organisations with hazard identification and risk assessment, DSEAR and ATEX compliance, explosion and reaction hazard testing, mitigation design and verification, functional safety, OT cybersecurity, auditing, incident investigation, governance support and role-specific training.
Let’s talk at CHEMUK
If you are attending CHEMUK and want to understand how mature your dangerous substances management really is, where your biggest risk and compliance gaps may lie, or how to prioritise action across sites and assets, we would be delighted to connect.
Visit DEKRA Process Safety at Stand C34, book a maturity assessment, or attend our CHEMUK conference sessions.