Manufacturing firm bags six-figure investment to boost growth plans

A Sheffield-based cotton tote bag manufacturer is moving forward with its growth plans after securing a six-figure funding from HSBC UK.

Bag It Don’t Bin It (BIDBI), which specialises in printing cotton bags for retailers, charities and art galleries, has used the funding to purchase new machinery for its factory in Sheffield.

The new Austrian-made industrial printing carousels and drying oven will allow the business to scale-up production and follow up on the investment which HSBC UK helped fund last year.

BIDBI anticipates that the investment will help boost turnover and allow further job creation over the next 12 months.

Marc Larsen, finance director of Bag It Don’t Bin It, said: “As a manufacturing company based in Sheffield we are always looking at ways to grow and to keep things local. We’ve seen strong demand for our sustainable bags as more and more retailers react to ethically conscious consumers.

“With our upgraded production facilities we’re ideally positioned to meet this demand, as well as providing the market with a real alternative to plastic bags. HSBC UK has been instrumental in the growth we have seen over the last two years and have shown great understanding of our business and what we are trying to achieve”

David Leonard, relationship manager for Business Banking South and East Yorkshire, HSBC UK, added: “BIDBI is a great example of the type of dynamic business we are proud to support. Marc and the team have considerable experience and knowledge of their market and are not afraid to increase productivity via strategic investments. The business has an ambitious vision and we look forward to supporting its expansion efforts.”

Established in 2007, BIDBI manufacturers Fairtrade and organic printed cotton and canvas bags, in a range of fashion forward styles.As well as cotton tote bags, BIDBI also prints and manufactures aprons, tea towels and other homewares.

Over the last two years the company has doubled in size and now employs more than 40 people. BIDBI has produced bags for a range of brands and organisations, including Liberty, Oxfam and Nike.

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