In a move designed to improve flexibility, efficiency and environmental impact of its supply chain, Worcestershire-based Essential Supply Products (ESP) has re-shored production of its tissue dispensing units from China.

In a move designed to improve flexibility, efficiency and environmental impact of its supply chain, Worcestershire-based Essential Supply Products (ESP) has re-shored production of its tissue dispensing units from China.

ESP, who recently moved to a new purpose built home at Blackmore Park in Malvern, is one of the UK's major converters of tissue products, including paper hand towels and toilet rolls.

UK technical injection moulding specialist, Talisman Plastics, now provides a turnkey solution with significant benefits that include improved lead times, product customisation and reduced carbon footprint.

The product in question is a range of plastic tissue dispensers that reduce tissue wastage in non-consumer markets. Moving production to Talisman Plastics means that ESP has been able to halve lead times, reduce stocking levels and introduce greater control and flexibility into the supply chain.
Customisation of the product to suit different markets and applications is now done by Talisman Plastics, who supplies the product in a range of colours and varied labeling, providing a supply chain service that was not feasible when the product was manufactured in China.

Craig Williams, sales director at ESP, confirms: "Manufacturing in Asia can create limitations for the supply chain. Larger orders and longer lead times required to make shipments economical are just part of the story. Communications can also be restrictive with time differences between UK and Asia. With Talisman Plastics we have already benefited from added value in the supply chain that was not previously possible.

"Responsible and sustainable sourcing is at the heart of our business and has driven this decision to move production to the UK. It is already contributing to a reduction in the environmental impact of our operations and supports local employment." Said Craig.

This is the latest in a series of contract wins for Talisman Plastics that has seen the company increase sales by 15% over the last 18 months. Talisman Plastics managing director, Shaun Champion, highlights the need for UK manufacturers to provide added value, flexibility and high quality in order to support re-shoring of UK manufacturing.

"In this case we needed to assess the mould tools returned from China in order to make improvements that allowed the full benefit to be gained from using our UK technical moulding facility. Talisman Plastics in-house toolroom was able to do this quickly and efficiently. There was also a need to manufacture a number of new mould tools for certain components, to ensure we had complete control of the process.
"This all had to be done extremely quickly, to ensure UK production of these units could be started prior to limited stocks running out. Developing a close understanding of ESP needs through regular meetings, was key to making this happen" concludes Shaun.