Speciality manufacturer boosts its production methods with extra investment
Global soap base and speciality ingredients manufacturer Stephenson is continuing to expand by investing in production methods at its UK headquarters in Leeds.
Based in Horsforth, the fifth-generation family-owned business has invested over £750,000 in upgrading its Durosoft production facilities, with the objective of producing more technically advanced and improved natural products.
This latest round of investment completes a £1m commitment in furthering its manufacturing technology, with a particular focus on advanced automation systems.
From its manufacturing base in Horsforth, Stephenson has pioneered nine new naturally derived ingredients as part of its Durosoft range, which includes emulsifiers, thickeners, emollients and solubilisers.
The past year has also seen a rebrand for the 164-year-old business. In 2019, Stephenson Personal Care and Stephenson Group rebranded as Stephenson in a move aligned to its long-term business strategy, namely, to focus energy on the growth of its personal care division.
The sale of Stephenson’s textile chemicals business in December 2018 underpinned this strategic focus on personal care ingredients.
In addition to the investment already committed on site so far this year, an entirely new computer system has been installed with 24/7 automated capability of receiving and processing customer orders, scheduling and prompting production.
Jamie Bentley
Stephenson’s chief executive officer, Jamie Bentley, said: “In order to facilitate diversification and growth, continued investment is critical whether that is in technology, recruitment, staff training or plant and equipment.
“It’s vital to keep innovating in such a fiercely competitive sector as the personal care market, which is evolving all the time and changing rapidly, largely due to sustainability issues.
“We export approximately 85 per cent of everything that we make, with roughly one third going to customers in Europe, one third to the United States and the remainder to the rest of the world. We also have a unique situation whereby not one of our customers makes up more than seven per cent of our business, and this gives us a hugely varied base of brands and companies to work with.
“A business of this size makes its own fortunes and creates its own opportunities and investment plays a big role in this. Investing in automation is not at all about reducing staff, it is about improving efficiencies so that we can make larger volumes within the infrastructure that we possess and reduce batch times significantly through the use of analytics and data.
“As we work with natural raw materials, there will always be a level of variability when it comes to the chemical mixing process, therefore if we are able to control the dosing and processing of these we are able to create a more consistent product. Consequently, it means that we have raised our skill level, which allows us to begin to manufacture more complex products.”
