Omya Success Story

Omya is a leading global manufacturer of industrial minerals, distributing specialty chemicals and offering innovative products for industries such as construction, plastics, and paper processing. Founded in Switzerland in 1884, Omya has grown into a global company with more than 160 locations worldwide. Its sites include mines, factories, and storage facilities across over 50 countries, employing 9,000 people.

The challenge 

As Omya expanded internationally, its leadership recognised that central oversight of estates and land holdings was essential. Local teams were using different systems, resulting in fragmented records and incomplete property information. Boundary maps were often inaccurate, creating delays in approvals and exposing the business to compliance risk. Reporting standards were difficult to implement consistently across regions, leaving management without a reliable view of permits and obligations.

For UK estates teams… whether in NHS Trusts, councils, universities, or housing associations… these challenges are familiar. Fragmented land data, unclear ownership rights, and inconsistent reporting can all disrupt operations and increase compliance risk. Under frameworks such as the Building Safety Act and the Golden Thread, estates teams must maintain transparent, traceable records that evidence land responsibilities and support statutory approvals.

The solution  

Omya sought a solution that would centralise estate management, provide visibility of ownership structures, and ensure legally compliant approval processes. The company needed a platform that could integrate property records, permits, and boundary data while meeting strict security requirements.

As Omya’s project team explained: “Key decision criteria included the ability to organise sites globally, confirm that all permits and rights were in place to operate, ensure permits covered the intended areas, and clarify the steps required to obtain any missing documents or permits. The system also needed to support engagement with owners and neighbours on property matters, while offering a secure, cloud based application that could be deployed quickly.”

VertiGIS FM was selected for its ability to deliver exactly that. The platform provides geospatial benefits that enable estates teams to visualise spatial data with clarity – making it easy to check boundary lines are mapped correctly and relevant areas covered by existing permits. The system consolidates documents, maps, and compliance data into one intuitive platform, supporting transparent workflows and audit ready reporting that maintain the Golden Thread of estates information. Mobile and offline access ensures field teams can capture and update information wherever they are, reducing delays and improving accuracy. By linking parcels to assets and spaces, Omya’s estates team gained full visibility of boundaries and rights, reducing compliance risk and streamlining approvals.

The result

Omya’s new integrated estate management system has replaced multiple legacy applications, giving staff a single source of truth for property and permit information. Day‑to‑day management is now simpler, with real‑time insights into the status of approvals and obligations. Leadership benefits from automated reporting dashboards that provide continuous visibility, enabling proactive responses to compliance challenges.

Most importantly, Omya now has confidence that its operating permits align with legal requirements across all regions. Transparent records now support statutory inspections and planning approvals, reducing compliance risk and delays. The clarity provided by VertiGIS FM has reduced risk, improved efficiency, and supported strategic estate planning at scale. Estate visibility also supports ESG reporting frameworks such as SECR and TCFD, giving UK estates teams confidence in both compliance and sustainability outcomes.

“VertiGIS FM solutions help us successfully overcome our challenges with missing or incomplete permits and ownership information. We finally have the confidence that our operating permits are in line with the legal requirements of the respective regions. VertiGIS’ expertise in helping global organisations and the seamless integration of Esri’s ArcGIS platform have simplified the global roll out,” Vincent Grodet, Project Manager, Land Management Systems, Omya.